Linguistics Department Tuesday Seminar Series

Date

Presenter

Title & Abstract

8/25
&
9/1
&
9/8

No Tuesday Seminars

9/15

'Öiwi Parker Jones

University of Oxford

Productivity in Hawaiian Reduplication: Allomorphy, Analogy and Near-Neighbor Models

Abstract of Seminar

9/22

9/29

10/6

10/13

Katie Drager

University of Hawai´i at Mānoa
Department of Linguistics

Using Random Effect Coefficients to Analyze Linguistic Variation

This talk will discuss two case studies from work on New Zealand English, illustrating ways of using random effects to investigate speaker variation.

When speaker is included as a random effect, each individual is essentially assigned their own intercept value. This increases the model’s validity, but it also has the advantage of revealing variation in the speakers’ use of the dependent variable.    For example, in a study of /t/ aspiration, individuals may have produced /t/ with various following contexts, each potentially affecting aspiration in different ways.   If following context is a fixed effect in the model, then each speaker’s random intercept can provide an assessment of their level of /t/-aspiration, independent of following context.

We first illustrate the interpretability of random intercepts within the context of data collected during a year-long ethnography conducted at an all girls’ high school. The random intercepts from a model of phonetic variation in the girls’ speech are investigated to reveal the degree to which certain speakers conform to speech patterns observed at the school. Qualitative data is used to interpret the trends.

We then show how random intercept values can be fed into subsequent mixed-effects models. For example, the above random intercepts were used as input in a model of responses during a speech perception task, allowing us to test the degree to which trends in an individual’s
production predicted trends in her speech perception.   A second example comes from a linear model predicting F3 in the production of intrusive /r/ in New Zealand English (as in ‘ma-r-and-pa’).    Random intercepts for each speaker were first obtained from a model of F3 in intervocalic /r/ (as in ‘carrot’).    These values were subsequently used as a predictor in the model of F3 of intrusive /r/, where they effectively acted as a normalization tool.

10/20

10/27

11/3

11/10

Peter C. Lincoln

Banoni from Bougainville to Berlin to Auckland

Abstract of Seminar
and
Map

11/17

11/24

Ann Peters

University of Hawai´i at Mānoa
Department of Linguistics

Funny Things on the Way to Word Combinations

Abstract of Seminar

12/1

Kenneth Rehg

University of Hawai´i at Mānoa
Department of Linguistics

FINE Grammars for Small Languages

Abstract of Seminar

12/8

Julia Wieting

University of Hawai´i at Mānoa
Department of Linguistics

Previous seminars:

Semester	coordinator	organizer
Spring 2009	Dr. Victoria Anderson	Dr. Victoria Anderson
Fall 2008	Dr. William O'Grady	On-Soon Lee
Spring 2008	Dr. William O'Grady	Wen-wei Han
Fall 2007	Dr. William O'Grady	Wen-wei Han
Spring 2007	Dr. William O'Grady	Diana Stojanovic
Fall 2006	Dr. William O'Grady	Jawee Perla
Spring 2006	Dr. William O'Grady	Fabiana Piccolo
Fall 2005	Dr. William O'Grady	Laura Robinson
Spring 2005	Dr. William O'Grady	Tsai-hsiu Liu
Fall 2004	Dr. Kamil Ud Deen	Tsai-hsiu Liu
Spring 2004	Dr. Kamil Ud Deen	Valerie Guerin
Fall 2003	Dr. Kamil Ud Deen	Valerie Guerin
Spring 2003	Dr. Kamil Ud Deen	Fabiana Piccolo

Dr. Kamil Ud Deen suggested creating this website, and Jun Nomura designed and implemented the site in Spring 2003.