Remote sociophonetic data collection: Vowels and nasalization from self‐recordings on personal devices

Abstract

When the COVID‐19 pandemic halted in‐person data collection, many linguists adopted modern technologies to replace traditional methods, including speaker‐led options in which participants record themselves using their own personal computers or smartphones and then email or upload the sound files to online storage sites for researchers to retrieve later. This study evaluated the suitability of such ‘home‐made’ recordings for phonetic analysis of vowel space configurations, mergers, and nasalization by comparing simultaneous recordings from several popular personal devices (Macbook, PC laptop, iPad, iPhone and Android smartphone) to those taken from professional equipment (H4n field recorder, Focusrite with Audio Technica 2021 microphone). All personal devices conveyed vowel arrangements and nasalization patterns relatively faithfully (especially laptops), but absolute measurements varied, particularly for the female speaker and in the 750–1500 Hz range, which affected the locations (F1 × F2) of low and back vowels and reduced nasalization measurements (A1−P0) for the female's pre‐nasal vowels. Based on these results, we assess the validity of remote recording using these consumer devices and offer recommendations for best practices for collecting high fidelity acoustic phonetic data from a distance.

Sociolinguistic prompts in the 21stcentury: Uniting past approaches and current directions

“…For the purposes of quantitative sociolinguistic (and especially sociophonetic) analysis, remote recording raises a few nontrivial concerns. The first is the need for high‐fidelity acoustic recordings, which modern smartphones and computers can achieve (Freeman & De Decker, 2021; Hinskens et al., 2021; Leemann, 2021; Miley et al., 2021). The second is whether the data obtained can include a range of speech styles, including those that approximate the vernacular.…”

Sociophonetic Analysis of the Characters' Speech in "Troubled Blood" by R. Galbraith

“…Sociophonetic data were commonly collected by recording directly the speech of the participants either in natural interactions in designated area or in laboratory setting (Chappel & Kanwit, 2022). Yet, during the last pandemic, some researchers also collected data from the participants' self-recording on their personal devices (Freeman & De Decker, 2021). In short, sociophonetic data can be obtained not only by direct contact with the respondents, but also remotely from recordings.…”