2.2.1 Recording

If you are not using any ready-made data, the first step on your way to an acoustic analysis is to record your speech data. The choice what to record depends very much on the field you are working on. You may want to record speakers in an environment they are familiar with like a schoolyard or maybe a pub. But due to the high level of background noise these kinds of places may not be appropriate for recording data which are to be examined as part of an acoustic analysis. The best environment for your recordings may simply be a quiet room.

You will also need some kind of recording device. Due to digital developments there are many different gadgets like cellphones, mp3-players etc., which offer some kind of recording function. But make sure your recording device meets certain sound quality standards. In order to obtain suitable results, the recorder should at least provide a sample rate of 22 kHz. There are many different kinds of so called handy recorders which are especially designed for high-end recordings. They usually have a sampling rate of up to 48 kHz. The higher the sampling rate, the more precise the results will be.

The question of what to record is as important as the issue of where and how the data is to be recorded. There are basically three kinds of approaches to this matter.

First, you could record the so called standard lexical sets established by J.C. Wells (cf. Wells 1992). These sets consist of a group of words which each share a particular vowel and are each represented by an unambiguous, monosyllabic keyword. They represent the vowel inventory of the varieties of English. In order to have no serious effects on the vowel quality the key words end in either voiceless alveolar or dental consonants. Recording the standard lexical sets is very useful if you are comparing the realization of vowels among different speakers of a language or to investigate the realization of vowels in one variety of one accent. The 27 key words are recorded one by one in order to obtain each speaker's realization of every vowel.

Due to the very artificial speaking style elicited by the standard lexical sets, the recording of a short story or a passage of a text might be more useful for an investigation. Although, this will do little to alter the fact that due to the speaker's awareness of the situation his/her speech style will remain somewhat factitious, the method will provide the linguist with much more fluent recordings. An established text for this method is “The North Wind and the Sun” (cf. International Phonetic Association 1949). It contains a broad range of vowels, diphthongs and consonants in stressed and unstressed positions. Due to some of the differences between British English and American English there is a different version for each variety. If you choose this method, be sure that you use the right text for the variety of English you want to examine. Also, watch closely that your informant reads every word of the text, so you record all the sounds contained in it.

The North Wind and the Sun

U.S. version

The North Wind and the Sun were arguing one day about which of them was stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped up in an overcoat. They agreed that the one who could make the traveler take his coat off would be considered stronger than the other one.

Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the harder he blew, the tighter the traveler wrapped his coat around him; and at last the North Wind gave up trying.

Then the Sun began to shine hot, and right away the traveler took his coat off. And so the North Wind had to admit that the Sun was stronger than he was.

British Version

The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which of them was stronger, when a traveller came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveller take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other.

Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew, the more closely did the traveller fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt.

Then the Sun shone out warmly, and immediately the traveller took off his cloak. And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.

The third way of recording speech data is via an interview. One major advantage to this approach is that you have more options of establishing an atmosphere in which the interviewee feels comfortable and can speak freely. This will in turn lead to him/her exhibiting a more natural speech style. Although, you might need to tell the informant that he/she is being recorded, he/she will still be more likely to use his own words and pronunciation style, provided certain requirements have been met. An interview is especially interesting when investigating word choice or grammar issues. But as we are concentrating on acoustic analysis we will not go into further detail.

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