Synopses & Reviews
Speech Rate, Pause, and Sociolinguistic Variation examines the confluence of psycholinguistic factors and social factors in linguistic variation through corpus-based analyses of speech rate and silent pause in US English. In particular, based on a large amount of data extracted from a wide range of sociolinguistic interview recordings, it demonstrates the great extent to which articulation rates are correlated with social factors of speakers (such as regional origin and sex) while pause durations are less so. Through the development of new quantitative techniques, it considers the cognitive importance of variability in pauses and highlights new ways that speech features like these can be used to help understand the production of sociolinguistic variables. With detailed discussions of its data and methods, and with a helpful accompanying website, it makes a valuable guide for conducting one's own corpus (socio)phonetic research.
Review
Synopsis
This book provides a fascinating account of the psycholinguistic and social factors behind variation in speech timing in US English. With detailed discussions of its methods and data, it also acts as a valuable model for conducting corpus (socio)phonetic research.
Synopsis
Speech Rate, Pause, and Sociolinguistic Variation examines the confluence of psycholinguistic factors and social factors in linguistic variation through corpus-based analyses of speech rate and silent pause in US English. In particular, based on a large amount of data extracted from a wide range of sociolinguistic interview recordings, it demonstrates the great extent to which articulation rates are correlated with social factors of speakers (such as regional origin and sex) while pause durations are less so. Through the development of new quantitative techniques, it considers the cognitive importance of variability in pauses and highlights new ways that speech features like these can be used to help understand the production of sociolinguistic variables. With detailed discussions of its data and methods, and with a helpful accompanying website, it makes a valuable guide for conducting one's own corpus (socio)phonetic research.
About the Author
Tyler Kendall is Assistant Professor of Linguistics, University of Oregon, USA. He works on sociophonetic, corpus and computational methods in the study of language variation and change. He is the developer of numerous sociolinguistic software projects, including SLAAP (http://ncslaap.lib.ncsu.edu/), and has published several articles and book chapters about data in spoken language research.
Table of Contents
PART I: SPEECH RATE, PAUSE, AND CORPUS SOCIOPHONETICS
Looking Forward
What we Know about Speech Rate and Pause
New Tools and Speech Databases
PART II: STUDIES IN SPEECH RATE AND PAUSE VARIATION
Methods and a First Look at Speech Rate and Pause
Speech Rate and Pause in Conversational Interviews
Closer Looks at Speech Rate and Pause Variation: Methods and Findings
Closer Looks at Speech Rate and Pause Variation: Interlocutors and Accommodation
PART III: SPEECH RATE, PAUSE, AND SOCIOLINGUISTIC VARIATION
The Influence of Speech Rate and Pause on Sociolinguistic Variables
Looking Back and Looking Further Forward