A4 Article in conference proceedings
Creaky voice and utterance fluency measures in predicting perceived fluency and oral proficiency of spontaneous L2 Finnish (2022)
Kallio, H., Suviranta, R., Kuronen, M., & Zansen, A. V. (2022). Creaky voice and utterance fluency measures in predicting perceived fluency and oral proficiency of spontaneous L2 Finnish. In S. Frota, M. Cruz, & M. Vigário (Eds.), Speech Prosody 2022 : Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Speech Prosody (pp. 777-781). International Speech Communication Association. Speech prosody. https://doi.org/10.21437/SpeechProsody.2022-158
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Kallio, Heini; Suviranta, Rosa; Kuronen, Mikko; Zansen, Anna von
Parent publication: Speech Prosody 2022 : Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Speech Prosody
Parent publication editors: Frota, Sónia; Cruz, Marisa; Vigário, Marina
Place and date of conference: Lisbon, Portugal, 23.-26.5.2022
Journal or series: Speech prosody
eISSN: 2333-2042
Publication year: 2022
Pages range: 777-781
Publisher: International Speech Communication Association
Publication country: France
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21437/SpeechProsody.2022-158
Publication open access: Openly available
Publication channel open access: Open Access channel
Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/81923
Abstract
While utterance fluency measures are often studied in rela tion to perceived L2 fluency and proficiency, the effect of creaky voice remains ignored. However, creaky voice is frequent in a number of languages, including Finnish, where it serves as a cue for phrase-boundaries and turn-taking. In this study we inves tigate the roles of creaky voice and utterance fluency measures in predicting fluency and proficiency ratings of spontaneous L2 Finnish (F2) speech. In so doing, 16 expert raters participated in assessing narrative spontaneous speech samples from 160 learn ers of Finnish. The effect of creaky voice and utterance fluency measures on proficiency and fluency ratings was studied using linear regression models. The results indicate that creaky voice can contribute to both oral proficiency and fluency alongside utterance fluency measures. Furthermore, average duration of composite breaks – a measure combining breakdown and re pair phenomena – proved to be the most significant predictor of fluency. Based on these findings we recommend further in vestigation of the effect of creaky voice to the assessment of L2 speech as well as reconsideration of the utterance fluency measures used in predicting L2 fluency or proficiency.
Keywords: voice control; speaking voice; oral expression; speech (phenomena); languages; Finnish as a second language; oral language skills; evaluation
Free keywords: creaky voice; utterance fluency; L2 speech; language assessment
Contributing organizations
Related projects
- Digital support for training and assessing second language speaking
- Kuronen, Mikko
- Research Council of Finland
Ministry reporting: Yes
VIRTA submission year: 2022
JUFO rating: 1