Created by Amanda Shultz About Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Links

Main Target Audience Target Audience Objectives Orientation Help Main Prev Next

This individualized instruction in PowerPoint was created for graduate students and instructors with a background in phonology and phonetics who want to learn more about acoustic analysis. Main Sec Prev Next

After using this instructional tool, you will: Have a better understanding of what acoustics is and how it relates to phonology and phonetics Know how to use the basic functions of Praat Know how to measure voice onset time (VOT) Main Sec Prev Next

This instructional tool may best be used with two computer monitors, one to view PowerPoint and the other to download the necessary items and use Praat. Note that there are links to websites. Once you click on a website link, a window will appear with the website. You will need to click on the PowerPoint screen again to return to this instructional tool. There are three sections to this instructional tool: Section 1: Background Information Section 2: Using Praat Section 3: Measuring Voice Onset Time (VOT) You can access the three sections from the main menu. To access the main menu from any page, click the “Main” button in the lower left corner. Each section has its own page. To access the section page of the section you are currently viewing, click the “Sec” button in the lower left corner. Each page has navigation buttons. Click the “Prev” button to view the previous page. Click the “Next” button to view the next page in the progression of this instructional tool. Click the “Back” button to view the last page you saw. Main Sec Prev Next

Need Help? If you are experiencing problems with this instructional tool, feel free to Amanda at If you feel like you need more background information, check out the links page here.here You can also access a helpful Praat beginners’ guide here.here For technical Praat questions, you can search the Praat manual by clicking the “Help” button, which is located in the object window as shown in the screen shot below. Main Sec Prev Next

Main What you should know What you should know Praat VOT Helpful Links Main Prev Next

Since this instructional tool is geared to those who already have an understanding of phonetics and phonology, you should be familiar with: The International Phonetic Alphabet The difference between phonetics and phonology Main Sec Prev Next

To put it simply, acoustics is the study of waves. To people interested in speech, acoustics is the study of the sound waves created by human speech. For the purposes of this instructional tool, Praat is an acoustic analysis computer program, which is free off the internet. You can use Praat to take acoustic measurements (e.g., pitch of a sound wave) from audio files of speech and to make markings within a text file to label and keep track of the contents of the audio file. Praat was designed by Paul Boersma and David Weenick. You can access their website for Praat here.here Main Sec Prev Next

Definitions needed to understand voice onset time (VOT): Phonation (Voicing)—vibration of the vocal folds which produces a periodic waveform Sound—a vibration that produces a periodic wave form (phonation/voicing creates a sound) Noise—a vibration that lacks periodicity (aspiration creates noise) Burst—a pressure impulse that can be seen in the waveform after the release of a stop/plosive Putting it all together: VOT—the time that elapses between the burst of a plosive and the onset of phonation. We will focus on the VOT of the plosives /b/ and /p/. Main Sec Prev Next

Voiced Stops: If the onset of phonation occurs first and the burst occurs second, then the VOT will have a negative value or if the phonation occurs at the burst then VOT would be 0 milliseconds (ms). During the time between the onset of phonation and the burst, there should be some periodicity (sound). Voiced Stops: VOT ≤ 0 E.g., Spanish /b/ Voiceless Stops: If the burst occurs first and the onset of phonation occurs second, then the VOT will have a positive value. During the time between the burst and the onset of phonation, there may be some noise from aspiration, but there should not be any periodicity (sound). Short Lag/Unaspirated Stops: 0 ms < VOT < 30 ms E.g., Spanish /p/ Long Lag/Aspirated Stops: VOT > 30 ms E.g., English /p/ Main Sec Prev Next

Main Sec Prev Next This diagram represents a timeline in which the mouth closes (“blockage”) and releases. The zigzag represents the timing of the voicing.

Main Instructions Video 1 Video 2 Assessment Main Prev Next

1)Go to Praat’s website and download the program on your computer.Praat’s website 2)Go to this website and download the sound file labeled “Plosive1”.this website 3)Save “Plosive1” to your computer in a location that you will remember. 4)Open Praat. The download should have created a shortcut on your desktop. 5)Close the “Praat Picture” window; we will not be using this. 6)In the “Praat Objects” window, click “Read.” Then click “Read from file.” 7)Find “Plosive1” in the place where you just saved it. Click on “Plosive1” in the window and then click “Open.” Main Sec Prev Next

8)“1. Sound Plosive1” will appear in the Objects list as the first item. 9)Click the “Annotate” button located to the right of the Objects list. Then click “To TextGrid…” 10)A window entitled, “Sound: To TextGrid” will appear. Just click “OK”. (We will save naming tiers for another time.) 11)“2. TextGrid Plosive1” will appear in the Objects list as the second item. 12)Highlight both the sound file and the TextGrid within the objects window. (Do this by holding shift while clicking or click and then drag your mouse.) 13)Click the “Edit” button located to the right of the Objects list. 14)Now you will see a new window appear. This shows the waveform and spectrogram of the sound file as well as the TextGrid which, right now, includes three tiers, labeled 1, 2, and 3 along the left side of this window. Congratulations, you have now officially opened a sound file/TextGrid in Praat! Main Sec Prev Next See the “Beginning Praat Video” on the next page for a demonstration of these instructions.

Click the “VIDEO” button above to see a demonstration of the previous set of instructions for using Praat. “Beginning Praat Video” Main Sec Prev Next

“Praat Functions Video” Main Sec Prev Next Click the “VIDEO” button above to see a demonstration of some of the basic functions in Praat.

Click to begin the activity! Main Sec Prev

Main Instructions Diagram Video Assessment Main Prev Next

1)Find the word that contains the initial stop consonant that you want to measure. 2)Zoom in on the beginning of the word to find the burst of the stop. Remember that the burst will make an impulse in the wave at the beginning of the word. 3)Place a boundary where the pulse begins to move from the dotted blue (zero) line. 4)Zoom out to see where the periodicity of voicing begins. 5)Zoom back in to see exactly where the periodicity does begin. Main Sec Prev Next

6)If you are not sure, you can listen to a selection of the speech that you think should be between the burst and the onset of voicing. Listening with a good pair of headphones is a good way to double check your work. If VOT is positive, then the onset of voicing should be noise, while the following vowel should be a periodic sound. If VOT is negative, then you have a waveform before the burst. 7)Place a boundary at the onset of voicing. 8)Click on the space between the two boundary lines and record the duration. This is the VOT. Remember: If the burst comes before the onset of voicing, then VOT is positive. If the burst comes after the onset of voicing, then VOT is negative. This means that you would have to put a negative sign in front of the duration that Praat calculated between the onset of voicing and the burst. (There is no reason for Praat to record a negative duration.) Main Sec Prev Next

The above screen shot of Praat has arrows that point to important features. Praat Screen Shot Main Sec Prev Next

“VOT Video” Main Sec Prev Next Click the “VIDEO” button above to see a demonstration of how to measure VOT in Praat.

Main Sec Prev Click to begin the quiz!

Praat VOT Video Praat VOT Video Praat Website How to read a spectrogram How to read a spectrogram Beginners’ Guide to Praat Beginners’ Guide to Praat Beginning Praat Video Beginning Praat Video Sample Sounds Mystery Spectrogram Mystery Spectrogram Wikipedia: VOT Wikipedia: VOT Praat Functions Video Praat Functions Video Main Back Wikipedia: Acoustics Wikipedia: Acoustics

If I wanted to upload a sound file into Praat, what would I click first? Section 2: Using Praat Click on the picture in response to the question.

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If I wanted to view just the part highlighted in pink, what would I click? Section 2: Using Praat Click on the picture in response to the question.

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If I wanted to view the Praat manual, what would I click? Section 2: Using Praat Click on the picture in response to the question.

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Click on the part of the screen that shows the duration of the part of the sound that is highlighted. Section 2: Using Praat Click on the picture in response to the question.

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1. Approximately, what is the VOT for the word “Bat” in the “Plosive1” sound file? a.1ms1ms b.4 ms4 ms c.12 ms12 ms d.51 ms51 ms Section 3: Measuring VOT

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2. Approximately, what is the VOT for the word “Pat” in the “Plosive1” sound file? a.88 ms88 ms b.62 ms62 ms c.54 ms54 ms d.10 ms10 ms Section 3: Measuring VOT

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3. Approximately, what is the VOT for the word “Bit” in the “Plosive1” sound file? a.85 ms85 ms b.72 ms72 ms c.35 ms35 ms d.13 ms13 ms Section 3: Measuring VOT

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4. Approximately, what is the VOT for the word “Pit” in the “Plosive1” sound file? a.89 ms89 ms b.95 ms95 ms c.109 ms109 ms d.125 ms125 ms Section 3: Measuring VOT

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