AUC Philologica (Acta Universitatis Carolinae Philologica) is an academic journal published by Charles University. It publishes scholarly articles in a large number of disciplines (English, German, Greek and Latin, Oriental, Romance and Slavonic studies, as well as in phonetics and translation studies), both on linguistic and on literary and cultural topics. Apart from articles it publishes reviews of new academic books or special issues of academic journals.
The journal is indexed in CEEOL, DOAJ, EBSCO, and ERIH PLUS.
AUC PHILOLOGICA, Vol 2017 No 3 (2017), 19–34
Voice disguise strategies in Czech male speakers
Alžběta Růžičková, Radek Skarnitzl
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/24646830.2017.30
published online: 01. 09. 2017
abstract
Voice comparison in forensic phonetic casework requires the assessment of the similarity of the target voices. This task may be impeded by the speakers’ attempt to disguise their voice. The objective of this study is to map the strategies of voice disguise as employed by 100 native speakers of Common Czech. In agreement with findings in other languages, changes in speaking fundamental frequency appeared in most speakers, and phonatory modifications were the second most frequent type of disguise. Other strategies included modifications of the resonance characteristics of the voice, melodic and temporal changes. Recognition difficulty and naturalness of the disguise were also assessed. In addition, several acoustic parameters in the natural and disguised condition were compared in 15 speakers whose disguise rendered recognition more difficult.
keywords: voice; voice disguise; forensic phonetics; speaker identification; Czech
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