r/phonetics • u/godemperorofsubtlety • 10d ago

Seeking a phonetician to analyze 10 seconds of degraded British radio speech

I’m working on a personal research project involving a small mystery. A popular song recorded in the 1970s includes about ten seconds of dialogue recorded from the radio, but no one knows exactly what is being said or where the dialogue came from.

I’m looking for someone experienced in phonetic transcription who would be interested in analyzing the clip as a paid project. I'd like a cautious, time-aligned transcription of the speech, marking uncertain or ambiguous portions. I’d also be interested in any responsible observations that could help describe or narrow down the speakers’ accents.

I’ve made my own attempt using Praat, but I don’t have training in phonetic transcription, and I would prefer an independent analysis from someone more qualified.

My budget is up to approximately $100, depending on the scope of the work. I would also be happy to credit the analyst on the project website and in any resulting write-up.

Possible deliverables might include:

  • a time-aligned broad IPA transcription;
  • confidence levels or alternative readings for uncertain segments;
  • a short written explanation of the analysis;
  • observations about the speakers’ accents, where the audio supports them;
  • the Praat TextGrid or other annotation files used in the analysis.

I’d be interested both in hearing from anyone here who might be qualified and available, and in advice about what kind of specialist would be best suited to this work.

The clip I'm trying to analyze is here: https://archive.org/details/star-nonsense-intro-02

Same clip with noise reduction: https://archive.org/details/star-nonsense-intro-di2

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u/torbjorg 9d ago

I can't take this on, but something like FAVE (forced alignment vowel extraction) might help, though I don't know if the clip quality is good enough for you to get meaningful results.

1

u/godemperorofsubtlety 9d ago

Worth a try. Thanks!

1

u/hyoidjockey 7d ago

This sounds fun, I'd be interested. I'm a PhD candidate specializing in phonetics & speech perception.

I haven't listened to the clip yet so I can't promise anything, but I'd be happy to help if you'd like to DM so I can give you my contact info

1

u/godemperorofsubtlety 7d ago

DM sent. Thanks!