Speech Prosody 2014

This paper presents results of an ongoing study concerning speech rhythm in native and non-native Polish. The goal of the analyses described in the paper was to characterize rhythmically Polish utterances realized by native and non-native speakers with German and Korean accent. The analyses are limited to the domain of duration, but in the future other prosodic parameters will also be investigated. In the current study, different rhythm metrics (%V, V, C, PVIs and Varcos) were applied to provide quantitative description of temporal patterning in native and non-native Polish. Following the assumption that perceived speech rhythm is the effect of meter and grouping which are closely related to prominence and phrasing, durational marking of various levels of prominence and prosodic edges was also analyzed between the three accents (native Polish and German- and Korean-accented Polish). The analyses aimed also at rhythmic classification of Polish - for that purpose the results of quantitative description with rhythm metrics and phonotactic properties of the speech material used in the current study were compared with the data for other languages presented in the literature.