Acoustic and perceptual correlates of emphasis in Arabic

尽管阿拉伯语是世界上最重要的语言之一，但它并没有成为语音研究的主题。该项目旨在通过关注阿拉伯语的一个独特特征-强调，为阿拉伯语的描述和分析做出贡献。重音是闪米特语言的一个显著特征，如阿拉伯语和希伯来语，指的是一组辅音，在后声道中有一个次级收缩，而在牙齿/齿槽区域通常有一个初级收缩。重音的特点并不局限于辅音本身，也可以扩展到相邻的音段。在语言学项目和国际科学工程办公室的支持下，Allard Jongman博士将对强调进行详细的声学和感知调查。声学分析将包括辅音和元音的各种测量。感知实验将评估辅音和相邻元音对强调感知的相对贡献。这项研究将记录和加强对阿拉伯语语音结构的理解。该项目将研究由若干不同说话者产生的大量刺激，从而可以评估性别和方言的差异。此外，扩散的对称或不对称性质，随着距离的增加而减少的程度，以及潜在的阻塞段的特征将对音系理论产生重要影响。这项研究将使语言学家能够测试阿拉伯语语音结构的许多方面的假设，除了强调，通过基于网络的数据库提供该项目的全套录音。阿拉伯语教师也可以利用这些数据来编写教材，提供有关阿拉伯语独特方面的详细信息。该项目的更广泛的影响包括本科生和研究生参与语言研究的机会。这项研究也将是与约旦几所大学合作的开始。因此，该项目将促进国际合作，希望这种合作最终发展成为一种伙伴关系，教师和学生之间的交流，并最终有助于更好的文化理解。

Despite its importance as one of the world's major languages, Arabic has not been the topic of much phonetic research. This project aims to contribute to the description and analysis of Arabic by focusing on one of its unique features - emphasis. Emphasis is a distinctive feature of Semitic languages such as Arabic and Hebrew that refers to a group of consonants produced with a secondary constriction in the posterior vocal tract and a primary constriction typically in the dental/alveolar region. The characteristics of emphasis are not confined to emphatic consonants themselves but can spread to adjacent segments as well. With support from the Linguistics Program and the Office of International Science & Engineering, Dr. Allard Jongman will conduct a detailed acoustic and perceptual investigation of emphasis. Acoustic analysis will include a variety of measurements of both consonants and vowels. Perception experiments will then evaluate the relative contribution of the emphatic consonant and adjacent vowels to the perception of emphasis. This research will document and enhance an understanding of the sound structure of Arabic. This project will examine a sizeable number of stimuli produced by a number of different speakers, thereby allowing for an assessment of differences in gender and dialect. In addition, the symmetrical or asymmetrical nature of the spread, the extent to which it diminishes as the distance from the emphatic increases, and the characteristics of potential blocking segments will have significant implications for phonological theory. This research will enable linguists to test hypotheses on many aspects of the sound structure of Arabic in addition to emphasis, with the complete set of audio recordings from the project available through a web-based database. These data can also be used by Arabic language teachers to develop teaching materials that provide detailed information about unique aspects of the Arabic language. The broader impact of this project includes opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to participate in linguistic research. This research will also be the start of a collaboration with several universities in Jordan. As such, this project will foster international cooperation, with the hope that this collaboration will eventually develop into a partnership, an exchange between faculty and students, and ultimately contribute to better cultural understanding.