PORADNIK JĘZYKOWY

ISSUE 7 / 2016

ARTICLES AND DISSERTATIONS

  • Ryszard Gubrynowicz : Acoustic analysis of Polish nasalised and nasal vowels
    The paper presents the preliminary results of an acoustic analysis of nasality in Polish nasalised and nasal vowels (“ę”, “ą” – IPA symbols: /ɛ̃/ and /ɔ̃/). Two methods of analysis were employed. One was based on the three-dimensional articulatory model developed by Birkholz (Birkholz 2016) and applied to study the influence of the cross-sectional area of the velopharyngeal port on the vocal tract transmission function and the output sound characteristics. The other object of the research was to study the nasality over time variation during articulation of nasalised and nasal vowels, spoken in word-medial or final positions. The analysis was done on the signals recorded with the use of Separator Handle from Nasalance System (Glottal 2011), enabling dual-channel registration of nasal and mouth signals. The nasalance analysis script, as well the spectra and formants, were processed in PRAAT system (Boersma P., Weenink, D. 2016). The asynchronous realisation of nasality of Polish vowels was confirmed. The nasal Polish vowels are composed of two segments: a short one – an oral segment followed by a longer one, vocalic nasal glide of gradually increasing nasality. The analysis of the influence of the opening of the velopharyngeal port on perceived nasality shows that its cross-sectional area in case of nasal vowels is much weaker than for nasal consonants. The effect of the observed increasing vocalic nasality is mainly due to transient tongue movements from the vowel configuration to the configuration of the following consonant. This is evident from the analysis of formant frequency movements.
  • Anita Lorenc, Daniel Król : Acoustic fi eld distribution in the articulation process of the Polish nasal vowel [ɔ̃]

    Phonetic studies of nasal sounds pose numerous obstacles to researchers, there being no unequivocal parameters reflecting this type of articulation obtained by means of acoustic analysis. Conversely, special systems dedicated to the investigation of nasality are costly, often invasive, and do not examine naturally produced speech.

    The present paper shows how a multi-channel recorder may be used for detecting nasality in pronunciation of the Polish vowel [ɔ̃] in a non-invasive manner. The described system records multi-channel audio and calculates spatial coordinates of sound propagation sources (3D acoustic field distribution), thus allowing the researcher to establish if the release of a segment is oral, oro-nasal or nasal.

  • Bartłomiej Czaplicki, Marzena Żygis, Daniel Pape, Luis M.T. Jesus : Acoustic and sociolinguistic analysis of new sibilants in the speech of young Polish women
    The Polish system of sibilants is currently undergoing changes in the speech of young women. The innovation involves alveolo-palatals and can be characterised as a change in progress in its initial stage. The change has recently come to the attention of many Poles. The new variants of sibilants connote childishness and immaturity and are heavily stigmatised among users of the standard variants. We present the results of an acoustic study of the new system of sibilants, in which the contrast [s : ɕ : ʂ] and [t͡s : t͡ɕ : t͡ʂ] has been replaced by [s : sʲ : ʂ] and [t͡s : t͡sʲ : t͡ʂ]. We have analysed sibilants / s : ɕ : ʂ / and / t͡s : t͡ɕ : t͡ʂ / pronounced by 16 speakers and divided them into two equal groups: speakers showing the standard realisation and speakers showing the new realisations of alveolo-palatals (i.e. [sʲ], [t͡sʲ]). We have investigated the spectral peaks and centres of gravity of the sibilants. The results of linear mixed models reveal statistically significant differences between the standard and the new variants of sibilants and lead us to the conclusion that the alveolo-palatal sibilants are currently undergoing changes in their acoustic realisation. In order to explain the social restriction of the change, we refer to the existence of an iconic association between acoustic energy concentration in higher frequency regions and youth or childishness. The change may be seen as a trait of an emerging feminine accent of Polish. We also consider two other explanations for the change: contrast optimisation in the sibilant system and a speech disorder.
  • Agnieszka Wagner : Contemporary methods of analysing spoken language intonation. An example of applying selected methods to analysing the melody of a poem
    The paper gives an overview of the existing models of intonation for describing and analysing the speech melody at different levels, including the phonetic and phonological ones. The paper presents the results of an analysis of the prosodic realisation of three modern poems. For this purpose, intonation was described in INTSINT and ToBI systems. F0 was extracted with the use of the Momel tool. The results of the analysis of Bialoszewski’s poems are particularly interesting. They prove that the text functions as a musical score for the vocal performance of the verses in his poetry (Baranczak 1974).
  • Justyna Garczyńska : Generational differences in the pronunciation of the vowel a in Kurpie dialect
    The aim of this paper is to provide a phonetic specification of the stressed vowel a in the contexts of hard consonants which are pronounced by five women from Kurpie region. For the purpose of analysing the material, the acoustic phonetics methodology was applied. The dialectal vowel pronunciation in the respondents was shown against the vowels of the standard Polish language. The analysis took the target frequency of the first and second formants into account. The measurements were carried out using Praat program. The analyses enabled the conclusion that the dialectal vowel á is pronounced only by the oldest group of the women, while the tendency for more front pronunciation of the vowel a was noticed in all respondents.
  • Lechosław Jocz : VOT and the voicing of stops in the dialect of Dąbrówka Wielkopolska
    The paper is devoted to the voicing of stops in the dialect of Dąbrówka Wielkopolska, the most western traditional Polish dialect. The description is based on values of voice onset time (VOT) measurements of over 400 phones from three informants. The results show a strong aspiration of voiceless stops in all positions (before stressed and unstressed vowels) in the speech of all three informants. The only exception is the position after /s/, where there is no aspiration. Aspiration is generally stronger in a controlled speech style but it is present in all styles, including spontaneous and neutral utterances. The voiced stops show both a full and partial voicing (long negative and short negative VOT). The difference between the pronunciation of the standard and colloquial Polish on the one hand and the dialect on the other hand is most probably a result of the influence of German. However, it can be also interpreted as an archaic feature.

POLISH GRAMMAR

  • Anna Just : Gramatyka polska (Polish grammar) by Fryderyk Müller – Königsberg contrastive grammar of German and Polish

REPORTS, NOTICES, POLEMICS

  • Kamila Wincewicz, Aleksandra Żurek : Report on the linguistic research carried out as part of the project titled „Akustyczna baza danych gwar mazowieckich” (“An acoustic database of Masovian dialects”)
  • Grażyna Wykowska : Report on the academic conference titled „Kontynuacja badań Adama Chętnika w Polsce północno-wschodniej (w 130. rocznicę urodzin)” (“Continuation of Adam Chętnik’s research in North-Eastern Poland (on the 130th anniversary of his birth)), Łomża, 16 July 2015

EXPLANATIONS OF WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS

WORDS AND PHRASES

Wersja polska