Labiodentals /r/ here to stay: Deep learning shows us why
The secondary labial articulation which accompanies the post-alveolar approximant /r/ in English has attracted far less attention from linguists than the primary lingual one. However, the lips may be particularly important in the variety of English spoken in England, Anglo-English, because non-lingu...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Presses Universitaires du Midi
2020-12-01
|
| Series: | Anglophonia |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/anglophonia/3424 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832579295480905728 |
|---|---|
| author | Hannah King Emmanuel Ferragne |
| author_facet | Hannah King Emmanuel Ferragne |
| author_sort | Hannah King |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The secondary labial articulation which accompanies the post-alveolar approximant /r/ in English has attracted far less attention from linguists than the primary lingual one. However, the lips may be particularly important in the variety of English spoken in England, Anglo-English, because non-lingual labiodental articulations ([ʋ]) are on the rise. Labiodentalisation may be due to speakers retaining the labial gesture at the expense of the lingual one, implying that /r/ is always labiodental even in lingual productions. We verify this assumption by comparing the labial postures of /r/ and /w/ in Anglo-English speakers who still present a lingual component. If post-alveolar /r/ is labiodental, the labial gesture for /w/, which is unequivocally considered rounded, should differ considerably. Techniques from deep learning were used to automatically classify and measure the lip postures for /r/ and /w/ from static images of the lips in 23 speakers. Our results suggest that there is a recognisable difference between the lip postures for /r/ and /w/, which a convolutional neural network is able to detect with a very high degree of accuracy. Measurements of the lip area acquired using an artificial neural network suggest that /r/ indeed has a labiodental-like lip posture, thus providing a phonetic account for labiodentalisation. We finish with a discussion of the methodological implications of using deep learning for future analyses of phonetic data. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6961699887604ce79bca8913390d1c1d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1278-3331 2427-0466 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Presses Universitaires du Midi |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Anglophonia |
| spelling | doaj-art-6961699887604ce79bca8913390d1c1d2025-01-30T12:32:40ZengPresses Universitaires du MidiAnglophonia1278-33312427-04662020-12-013010.4000/anglophonia.3424Labiodentals /r/ here to stay: Deep learning shows us whyHannah KingEmmanuel FerragneThe secondary labial articulation which accompanies the post-alveolar approximant /r/ in English has attracted far less attention from linguists than the primary lingual one. However, the lips may be particularly important in the variety of English spoken in England, Anglo-English, because non-lingual labiodental articulations ([ʋ]) are on the rise. Labiodentalisation may be due to speakers retaining the labial gesture at the expense of the lingual one, implying that /r/ is always labiodental even in lingual productions. We verify this assumption by comparing the labial postures of /r/ and /w/ in Anglo-English speakers who still present a lingual component. If post-alveolar /r/ is labiodental, the labial gesture for /w/, which is unequivocally considered rounded, should differ considerably. Techniques from deep learning were used to automatically classify and measure the lip postures for /r/ and /w/ from static images of the lips in 23 speakers. Our results suggest that there is a recognisable difference between the lip postures for /r/ and /w/, which a convolutional neural network is able to detect with a very high degree of accuracy. Measurements of the lip area acquired using an artificial neural network suggest that /r/ indeed has a labiodental-like lip posture, thus providing a phonetic account for labiodentalisation. We finish with a discussion of the methodological implications of using deep learning for future analyses of phonetic data.https://journals.openedition.org/anglophonia/3424sound changelabialisationrhoticsdeep learningAnglo-English |
| spellingShingle | Hannah King Emmanuel Ferragne Labiodentals /r/ here to stay: Deep learning shows us why Anglophonia sound change labialisation rhotics deep learning Anglo-English |
| title | Labiodentals /r/ here to stay: Deep learning shows us why |
| title_full | Labiodentals /r/ here to stay: Deep learning shows us why |
| title_fullStr | Labiodentals /r/ here to stay: Deep learning shows us why |
| title_full_unstemmed | Labiodentals /r/ here to stay: Deep learning shows us why |
| title_short | Labiodentals /r/ here to stay: Deep learning shows us why |
| title_sort | labiodentals r here to stay deep learning shows us why |
| topic | sound change labialisation rhotics deep learning Anglo-English |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/anglophonia/3424 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hannahking labiodentalsrheretostaydeeplearningshowsuswhy AT emmanuelferragne labiodentalsrheretostaydeeplearningshowsuswhy |