INTERSPEECH 2011 12th Annual Conference of the International Speech Communication Association Florence, Italy August 27-31. 2011

Long Term Average Speech Spectra in Yolngu Matha and Pitjantjatjara Speaking Females and Males

Hywel Stoakes (1), Andrew Butcher (2), Janet Fletcher (1), Marija Tabain (3)

(1) University of Melbourne, Australia
(2) Flinders University, Australia
(3) La Trobe University, Australia

This paper provides a spectral analysis of two Australian languages Yolngu Matha (YM), Pitjantjatjara (PTJ) and Australian Aboriginal English (AAE) as spoken in two language communities. The aim of this study is to show clear quantitative spectral differences between Australian Aboriginal English and the two Aboriginal languages. Thirteen speakers of Yolngu Matha (YolNu Matha) ten male, three female and three female speakers of Pitjantjatjara were recorded reading or retelling a passage in their first language and also in English. The results show that there is a difference between the spectral averages of the two language groups with the AAE having higher amplitudes at higher frequencies when compared to the two Australian languages. The Australian Aboriginal language examples all show higher amplitudes for frequencies between 750 Hz and 2 kHz for all speakers.

Full Paper

Bibliographic reference.  Stoakes, Hywel / Butcher, Andrew / Fletcher, Janet / Tabain, Marija (2011): "Long term average speech spectra in yolngu matha and pitjantjatjara speaking females and males", In INTERSPEECH-2011, 1897-1900.