Learning to perceive: segmental foreign accent generation and computational analysis for education and human-machine interaction
| Project/Area Number |
23K18657
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Review Section |
0102:Literature, linguistics, and related fields
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| Research Institution | Waseda University |
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Principal Investigator |
PAREZRAMON RUBEN 早稲田大学, 国際学術院, 講師(任期付) (40976015)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2023-08-31 – 2025-03-31
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| Project Status |
Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
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| 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)
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| Keywords | foreign accent / perception / language interaction / signal manipulation / Foreign accent / Segments / Perception / Speech Technologies |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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Report
(1 results)
Research Products
(5 results)
