Speech Rhythm in Goan Konkani Speakers

Abstract

Introduction: Languages of the world vary in their rhythm. Rhythm is hierarchical in nature in language, as it is in music. All spoken languages exhibit isochronous units of speech, and all languages can be classified based on rhythm. The present study aimed to investigate the rhythm in Goan Konkani speakers. Materials and Methods: Ten females in the age group of 18–22 years were participated in the study. All of them were screened for speech-, language-, and hearing-related problems. A speech sample of each participant was elicited using pictures depicting a story, and these samples were audiorecorded. The speech samples were transferred into PRAAT software, and the vocalic (V) and intervocalic (IV) durations were found out. The duration difference between successive vocalic and IV segments was calculated and averaged to get the normalized pairwise variability index (nPVI) and raw pairwise variability index (rPVI), respectively. Results: The mean nPVI and rPVI values obtained were 50.64 and 60.87, respectively. The results of paired sample t-test revealed a significant difference between the nPVI and rPVI values. Conclusions: The trend of low nPVI value and high rPVI value is a basic characteristic of syllable-timed language. Similar trend was identified in the present study, suggesting Konkani as a syllable-timed language.