Syllabic Rate and Utterance Length in French

Malécot, André; Johnston, R. C.; Kizziar, P.-A.

doi:10.1159/000259414

Cited by 88 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…When the authors speeded up the presentation of French test words from 2.2 to 5.6 syllables per second on the average, through either faster human delivery or computerized compression, UP effects disappeared. Interestingly, the fast rate corresponded to the average normal rate of continuous speech (Malecot, Johnston, & Kiziar, 1972). Therefore, Radeau et al (1994) suggested that UP phenomena traditionally reported in the literature could arise from the abnormally slow speech rate used in the artificial laboratory situation.…”

Section: Modell the Sequential Nature Of Speech Processingmentioning

confidence: 94%

The use of time during lexical processing and segmentation: A review

Mattys

1997

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

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Speech, by its very nature, is a time-based phenomenon. Speech sounds are temporally distributed, with the presentation of one sound roughly conditioned by the fading of the previous one. In this review, three classes of models are discussed with respect to the sequential nature of speech. It is argued that the three resulting conceptions of time are linked to the type of segmentation process proposed by these models to deal with speech continuity. In the first one, lexical activation is viewed as perfectly synchronized with the temporal deployment of speech. This type of model corresponds to the traditionalleft-to-right (proactive) account of lexical processing. Because serious segmentation problems exist for such an approach (e.g., car and card are embedded in cardinal), the second type of model treats word recognition as the result of a mechanism that sometimes delays commitment on word identity beyond word offset. Lexical activation, instead of shadowing the unfolding of time, lags behind it until an unambiguous decision can be made. The temporarily unprocessed information is stored in a memory buffer. In the third approach, a prosodic cue (lexical stress) contributes actively to speech segmentation and lexical processing. Every stressed syllable encountered in the signal is postulated as a word onset and thus constitutes the starting point of lexical activation. However, with non-initial-stressed words, retroactive procedures going "back in time" must be used. Finally,the use oftime (including proactive, delayed, and retroactive procedures) is discussed in light of cross-linguistic phonological differences.How spoken words are recognized is a major concern in psycho linguistics. Models posited to explain this complex cognitive skill have traditionally ascribed a central position to the notion of lexical processing, which corresponds to the multiple steps that lead to the recognition of a word (Frauenfelder & Tyler, 1987). Lexical processing includes three stages: (l) the initial contact between the input signal and the mental lexicon, (2) the activation ofcandidates in the lexicon and their progressive selection, and (3) the recognition of the actual word. The term lexical access is usually reserved to describe the moment at which lexical information becomes available to the speech processor.Approaching lexical processing and segmentation from a time perspective is unconventional in the field of word recognition. Traditionally, research has mainly focused on the informational side ofspeech processing (amount of information, number of phonemes, type of perceptual units, quality of the input, etc.). However, it is possible to examine and classify the models built on this type of evidence along a time-based typology. In this review, I have This work was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant ROI MH516630 I. I am very grateful to Arty Samuel for his supervision of this work and to the following members of the speech laboratory: Donna Kat and Lee Wurm. Thanks are also due Susan Brennan, Richard G...

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Section: Modell the Sequential Nature Of Speech Processingmentioning

confidence: 94%

The use of time during lexical processing and segmentation: A review

Mattys

1997

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

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“…Laver (1994:158) quotes 5.3 syllables/second as a "medium articulation rate". Duez (1982) found a mean Articulation Rate of 5.2 syllables/second for a group of prominent French politicians in 'casual interviews ' and Malecot et al (1972) found a Speaking Rate of 5.95 syllables/second for a group of Parisian French speakers. These are quite similar to the results for the English speakers in the present study, although as Laver (1994) points out, a measure of syllables per unit time is not a good basis for comparison of rate across languages because of possible differences in syllable structure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Walker (1988) found no evidence of a difference according to gender in her study. Malecot et al (1972) found no evidence that emotional state influences speech rate.…”

Section: Measurements Of Speech Ratementioning

confidence: 93%

“…It suggests a Speaking Rate of something of the order of 3.5 to 5.0 syllables/second as the rate at which speech is normally produced. Malecot et al (1972) report a tendency for Articulation Rate to increase with length of utterance. Goldman-Eisler (1968) reports variable Speaking Rates for her subjects for utterances ('speaking turns' in our terminology) of 40 syllables or less.…”

Section: Measurements Of Speech Ratementioning

confidence: 98%

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Rural versus urban accent as an influence on the rate of speech

Hewlett

Rendall

1998

Journal of the International Phonetic Association

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Speakers of rural accents have been said to speak more slowly than speakers of urban accents. However, there would appear to have been no previous empirical investigation of such a claim. In the study reported here, recordings were made of 12 Orkney English speakers and 12 Edinburgh English speakers, during a reading task and in conversation with the experimenter. Measurements, in syllables per second, were made of both the Speaking Rate and the Articulation Rate (i.e. the rate calculated after excision of pauses) of each speaker in reading mode and in conversation mode. Comparison of the results for the two groups revealed no tendency for the urban (Edinburgh) speakers to speak faster than the rural (Orkney) speakers. The claim that rural speakers speak more slowly than urban speakers therefore still awaits empirical support. Some discussion is offered concerning the possible relationships among speech tempo, lifestyle and accent.

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“…Grosjean & Deschamps (1972). Certains auteurs (dont Goldman-Eisler (1968) pour l'anglais, Malécot et al (1972) et Grosjean & Deschamps (1975) pour le français) ont soutenu que c'est la vitesse de locution qui est variable alors que la vitesse d'articulation a plutôt tendance à se maintenir. Or Miller et al (1984) ont dé-montré que la vitesse d'articulation pouvait également être variable.…”

Section: Le Débit Et La Valeur De Reproductionunclassified

Prosodie et discours. Le cas du discours rapporté en français québécois oral spontané

Demers

2009

rql

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Syllabic Rate and Utterance Length in French

Cited by 88 publications

References 3 publications

The use of time during lexical processing and segmentation: A review

The use of time during lexical processing and segmentation: A review

Rural versus urban accent as an influence on the rate of speech

Prosodie et discours. Le cas du discours rapporté en français québécois oral spontané

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