Invitation to English Pronunciation Survey

[nakanishi]

My doctoral research is in the area of phonetics, and I am gathering English pronunciation data from around the world.
Will you provide me with the recording of your English accent by accessing one of the following links? Each recording takes 10-15 minutes per section, and there are three sections with different sets of words and phrases.

https://noriko-nakanishi.com/survey/index.php?gakuseki_no=B0001
https://noriko-nakanishi.com/survey/index.php?gakuseki_no=B0002
https://noriko-nakanishi.com/survey/index.php?gakuseki_no=B0003

I am interested in the varieties of English accents as well as accent changes over the years. I think Librivox readers would be perfect models of contemporary English pronunciation. Details of my research can be found at
https://nakanishi.kobegakuin-gc.jp/uploads/nakanishi/files/nakanishi/Survey.pdf .
Participation is voluntary, and I will make every effort to maintain the privacy of your data.
Anybody (native or non-native speakers of English) who can read English words and sentences is welcome.

Thank you.

[Availle]

ようこそ中西さん!

I am not a native English speaker, but it's okay if I participate?

Also, there are three links with assignment - do you want me to complete all three of them?

Thank you for clarifying and welcome to LibriVox!

[nakanishi]

Dear Availle

Thanks for your questions.

* About non-native / native speakers participation
Yes, both native and non-native speakers of English are welcome.
More precisely,
1) British and North American English speakers
I will compare the current data with the one gathered some decades ago. This way, we can see how the pronunciation trend has changed over the years.
2) Non-native speakers of English and non-British, non-American English speakers
I would like to help international users of English by sharing different accents that people from different regions speak. This way, we can get used to each other's accents, which will lead to easier communication. For example, I have less difficulty understanding Chinese-accented English than, say, Arabic-accented English, because I am more used to listening to Chinese-accented English. Also, it's easier for me to listen to American English than, for example, Australian English, because I do not have many Australian friends. It is NOT which accent is better, but simply whether or not we are used to that particular variety.

Your recordings will be securely processed and uploaded on the following website.
https://noriko-nakanishi.com/sounds/
(Sorry it takes a while to open the page right now. We are trying to improve the speed.)

* About the three links
https://noriko-nakanishi.com/survey/index.php?gakuseki_no=B0001
https://noriko-nakanishi.com/survey/index.php?gakuseki_no=B0002
https://noriko-nakanishi.com/survey/index.php?gakuseki_no=B0003
The only difference between these three sites is the order of the word sets that appear on each section. I prepared three sites to avoid the possible overflow of the data, and also to counterbalance the order effect; i.e., participants' articulation gets better/worse as they get used to/get tired of the recording.

So please choose any one of the three.

[annise]

I'm not keen on using chrome - if downloading it is the only option perhaps let people know ?

Anne

[ej400]

Hello! I'm interested in this as well, but I'm only wondering what the study might be for?

Elijah

[nakanishi]

Dear Annise,
Thanks for your suggestion.
Actually I spoke with the technical team this morning about enabling other browsers. Right now they say Chrome seems to be most stable, but I will let you know when they are finished with testing other browsers.

[nakanishi]

Dear ej400,

Thanks for your question.

This is a part of my doctoral research on "Phonetic Trends in Global Accents of English."

The main purposes of the research are:
1) To describe how the English pronunciation trend has changed over the years
2) To share different varieties of English accents with international users of English.

For a further description of the research, could you visit the following link?
https://nakanishi.kobegakuin-gc.jp/uploads/nakanishi/files/nakanishi/Survey.pdf

I got permission from the Librivox Admin Team before posting the invitation, and I will cite Librivox as anonymous contributors in the acknowledgment page of my doctoral thesis.

[CSCO]

Hi,

法子(Noriko)? 紀子(Noriko)? 則子(Noriko)? 典子(Noriko)? ノリ子(Noriko)?
Are you perhaps 海苔子(Noriko)?

I suppose the sampling time (10-15 minutes) per section is too long. Because they are busy. If it took 15 seconds per section and had 100 sections and the texts were under 3,000 words level, I could take part in a section or two.

[nakanishi]

Dear CSCO,

Thanks for your suggestion.
However, I cannot divide them into 100 sections, because all the words and phrases need to be linked to the reader's background information i.e., region, gender, and birth year. When it's divided into 100 sections, the reader has to give these pieces of information 100 times!

Each section has around 120 words and sentences, and average recording time is 4-6
minutes per section (2-3 sec for each word). I said it will take 10-15 minutes to finish each section, which is more than double the length of the actual recording, because the readers will be informed about the privacy policy and asked to briefly introduce themselves at the beginning. This starting procedure requires some time, so it is more practical to go through 120 words at once. In fact, most of the participants finish 3 sections together at one time (This way they only need to introduce themselves once).

Concerning the word level, there may be some unfamiliar words because this research is a semi-duplication of the survey conducted for Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (2008). In order to compare the current trend with the data gathered back then, the words in the survey need to be the same. You will be asked to say "I don't know" when you see any word that you are not familiar with.

Regards,
中西のりこ Noriko

[nakanishi]

Dear Annise and all,

The technical team has finished checking Firefox and confirmed that it works.
Now the survey page is available on Chrome AND Firefox.
Could you try whichever browser you like?
We will fix some instructions in the PC setting page later.

Noriko

[CSCO]

Hi,

>When it's divided into 100 sections, the reader has to give
>these pieces of information 100 times!

You can use HTTP cookie technology. Learn about it for your future success. (急がばまわれ)
You know that no pay and heavy loads will never success.

[ej400]

Dear ej400,

Thanks for your question.

This is a part of my doctoral research on "Phonetic Trends in Global Accents of English."

The main purposes of the research are:
1) To describe how the English pronunciation trend has changed over the years
2) To share different varieties of English accents with international users of English.

For a further description of the research, could you visit the following link?
https://nakanishi.kobegakuin-gc.jp/uploads/nakanishi/files/nakanishi/Survey.pdf

I got permission from the Librivox Admin Team before posting the invitation, and I will cite Librivox as anonymous contributors in the acknowledgment page of my doctoral thesis.

Thank you for the information! I will most definitely look into it I do have just one question though, is that if I wouldn't want to appear as an anonymous contributor if I could possibly be acknowledged? If it's not because of a privacy issue, I don't mind having my name on there. I would love to help you out

[nakanishi]

Dear CSCO

Thanks for your advice.
I'll remember that next time.

ps.
I like your signature

[nakanishi]

Dear Elijah,

Thanks for your kind offer.
Yes, it is a privacy issue. For this survey, I promised that all the participants' names will be confidential.

------------
Below this line is something different from the current pronunciation survey.
------------
Could you leave your email address (which is optional) at the beginning of the survey so that I may contact you in case I need paid narrators for textbook publication? It won't be until next year (or even the year after), and I cannot explain the details until then, but your offer gave me an idea. Thanks!

[mightyfelix]

I'm interested in participating, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to sit down and record next. How long will this survey be open?