The present study investigates the prosody of yes/no questions (in comparison with statements) in Chinese learners and native speakers of Italian. Acoustic analyses and a perceptual test were performed, in order to identify the main trends in non-native productions. Results show the relevance of prosody, which differentiates elementary, intermediate and advanced Chinese learners of Italian. Listening tests based on prosody transplantation also suggest that non-native segments with a native Italian prosody are rated as less accented than are native Italian segments with a non-native prosody. Similar trends were found, overall, in terms of question/assertion discrimination, confirming the relative importance of prosody. These findings could be helpful for teachers and learners of Italian as a foreign language.

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Genetic Algorithm (GA) assisted beamforming techniques are proposed as an alternative to conventional beamforming algorithms. The design of the corresponding GAs is highlighted and the achievable performance is characterised in terms of the Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR) and the Signal-to-Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR). It is demonstrated that an attractive SINR versus complexity trade-off is achievable by the proposed GA-assisted beamformers, provided that the GA parameters are appropriately chosen.

A new filtering technique for single‐fold wide‐angle reflection/refraction seismic data is presented. The technique is based on the wavelet decomposition of a set of adjacent traces followed by coherence analysis. The filtering procedure consists of three steps. In the first, a wavelet decomposition of traces into different detail levels is performed. In the second, the coherence attributes for each level are evaluated by calculating cross‐correlation functions of detail portions contained in a space–time moving window. Finally, the filtered traces are obtained as a weighted reconstruction of the trace details. Each weight is obtained from the coherence‐attributes distribution estimated in a proper interval. A sequence of tests is then conducted in order to select possible optimum or unsuitable wavelet bases. The efficiency of the filter proposed was assessed by calculating some properly designed parameters in order to compare it with other standard de‐noising techniques. The proposed method produced a clear signal enhancement in high‐density wide‐angle seismic data, thus proving that it is a useful processing tool for a reliable correlation of seismic phases.

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