--- Forwarded Message from "Carine Ullom" <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 09:57:45 -0400
>From: "Carine Ullom" <[log in to unmask]>
>Organization: St. Lawrence University
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum                          <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: CAN8 & Waveforms
>References: <[log in to unmask]>

------------------
Hello,
Chiming in on what Mary Ball added to the discussion re: CAN8 and
waveforms... I agree with everything Mary said but would explain it
slightly differently.  The visual image of the sound provided with CAN8
offers a little more than mere volume.  That is, volume can equal
emphasis.  For example, in Russian, the intonation contour is very
important.  Students DO try to match the example in terms of which portion
of a word is emphasized (possibly louder) and which trails off.  The
soundbar represents 2 additional pieces of information: length of
utterance and rhythm.  Length of utterance is important for achieving
native tempo.  The silences Mary talked about are very helpful for
understanding the rhythm of a language.  In addition to the silences at
the end of a phrase, word, or sentence, some words have built-in tiny
pauses that are important for correct pronunciation.  These show up very
nicely in CAN8.  So, I'm not sure if the visual representation in CAN8
qualifies as a waveform, as it can do nothing for assisting with pitch or
execution of specific sounds (gutterals, glottal stops, Rs, Bs, Vs,
etc.).  Nonetheless, the intonation, length of utterance, and rhythm
assistance it affords is quite useful.

Carine

--
Carine Ullom
Director, Carnegie Language Center/
Instructional Technology Specialist
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY 13617
315-229-5857 (tel)
315-229-5989 (fax)

LLTI-Editor wrote:

> --- Forwarded Message from [log in to unmask] ---
>
> >From: [log in to unmask]
> >Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 21:30:27 -500
> >User-Agent: IMHO/0.98 (Webmail for Roxen)
> >Subject: 6078.2 Voice analysis/waveform
> >To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Dear LLTIers,
>
>      Judy Shoaf mentioned that some CAN-8 users had suggested they
> have their students try to match CAN-8's audio graphic.  I can say
> that when we bought our CAN-8 lab a few years ago at Ashland
> University, it was made clear to us by the vendor and the manufacturer
> that the ups and downs in the graphic represent volume and nothing
> else.  The graphic helps you see pauses=E2=80=93end of phrase, word or
> sentence (since pauses are silences).  The line across the top
> indicates the ceiling where you will get clipping if your source is
> too loud.  Instructors tell students this in orientations and try to
> teach them to read the graphic for those purposes. I usually play back
> a nasty clipped file as a demo of what "this" visually will sound
> like.
>      It's true that, unless told otherwise, some students do think
> that they should try to match the graph.  That's one reason we make a
> point of telling them not to. =20
>     =20
>     =20
> Mary Ball
> Ph.D. Student
> Foreign/Second Language Education
> Ohio State University