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Learning to perceive: segmental foreign accent generation and computational analysis for education and human-machine interaction

Research Project

Project/Area Number 23K18657
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Review Section 0102:Literature, linguistics, and related fields
Research InstitutionWaseda University

Principal Investigator

PAREZRAMON RUBEN  早稲田大学, 国際学術院, 講師(任期付) (40976015)

Project Period (FY) 2023-08-31 – 2025-03-31
Project Status Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
Budget Amount *help
¥2,730,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥630,000)
Fiscal Year 2024: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
Keywordsforeign accent / perception / language interaction / signal manipulation / Foreign accent / Segments / Perception / Speech Technologies
Outline of Research at the Start

Non-native speakers often have distinct speech features (foreign accent - FA). Using computational techniques, we will look into how FA impacts communication focusing on mispronounced sounds in Japanese, English, and Spanish. The goal is to enhance language teaching and explore linguistic profiling.

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

For my current research I have already performed the initial control tests after finding suitable speakers for the preparation of the perception experiment. Results of the control tasks for calibration of the manipulation techniques have been presented in conferences such as ICPhS 2023, in Prague, and in major journals such as Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics and the Journal of Second Language Studies in collaboration with other researchers, and Languages as the only author. Other than the aforementioned presentations and manuscripts, the researcher has established connections with researchers at Tsukuba University, in Japan, and researchers in Spanish universities such as the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona.

Current Status of Research Progress
Current Status of Research Progress

3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.

Reason

Finding a suitable bilingual speaker for the reading of the tokens in both Japanese and Spanish has proved a bit more difficult than expected. However, the speakers have now been found, and I expect the project to run smoothly. The final experiment, in which the interaction between Spanish and Japanese will be tested at the segmental level, will be conducted as planned.

Strategy for Future Research Activity

Currently, the necessary steps for the completion of the experiment are the recording of the speakers and the running of the final experiment among Japanese and Spanish listeners. I intend to equip my laboratory with the required hardware for this purpose (Mac Mini, headphones, etc.) at the beginning of FY2024 so the experiment can be run during Summer and the results can be analyzed and submitted to conferences and journals by the end of FY2024.

Report

(1 results)
  • 2023 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (5 results)

All 2024 2023

All Journal Article (3 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 3 results,  Peer Reviewed: 3 results,  Open Access: 1 results) Presentation (2 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 2 results)

  • [Journal Article] Discrimination of Degrees of Foreign Accent across Different Speakers2024

    • Author(s)
      Perez-Ramon Ruben
    • Journal Title

      Languages

      Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Pages: 72-72

    • DOI

      10.3390/languages9030072

    • Related Report
      2023 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Perception of Japanese Accented English Segments in Words2024

    • Author(s)
      Kondo, Mariko & Perez-Ramon, Ruben
    • Journal Title

      Journal of Second Language Studies

      Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Pages: 210-237

    • DOI

      10.1075/jsls.22017.kon

    • Related Report
      2023 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] The role of lexical context and language experience in the perception of foreign-accented segments2023

    • Author(s)
      Perez-Ramon Ruben、Garcia Lecumberri Maria Luisa、Cooke Martin
    • Journal Title

      Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics

      Volume: 59 Issue: 3 Pages: 609-634

    • DOI

      10.1515/psicl-2022-1090

    • Related Report
      2023 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] L2 proficiency predicts L1 accentedness and comprehensibility2023

    • Author(s)
      Yazawa Kakeru, Perez-Ramon Ruben, Kondo Mariko
    • Organizer
      ICPhS 2023
    • Related Report
      2023 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Nativeness and intelligibility of Japanese accented English consonants by French listeners2023

    • Author(s)
      PEREZ-RAMON RUBEN, KONDO MARIKO, DETEY SYLVAIN, FONTAN LIONEL, AMAND MAELLE, KAMIYAMA TAKEKI
    • Organizer
      ICPhS 2023
    • Related Report
      2023 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research

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Published: 2023-09-11   Modified: 2024-12-25  

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