Research Aim 2: Population Statistics

The data collected in Aim 1 for the WY database will be analysed across four speech parameters in order to provide relevant population statistics.

The four speech parameters under investigation are:
– Long-term formant distributions (LTFD)
– Voice quality (VQ)
– Fundamental frequency (f0)
– Hesitation markers

These parameters have been specifically chosen as experts have identified them as some of the most discriminant speech parameters (Gold and French 2011) and previous research as confirmed this for SSBE (Gold et al., 2013; Stevens and French, 2012; Gold, 2014; Wood et al., 2014).

There are currently no population statistics available for British English varieties other than SSBE. Therefore, those parameters under investigation will be extremely useful in providing the first ever WY (and Northern British English) population statistics. The WY population statistics will provide a like-for-like comparison with the SSBE population statistics. This will allow insight into how similar varieties of British English may be to one another in regard to the parameters under investigation, which is essential to Aim 4.