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Revisiting distinctive phonetic features from applied computing perspective: unifying views and analyzing modern Arabic speech varieties

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A Correction to this article was published on 04 October 2018

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Abstract

Distinctive phonetic features (DPFs) provide the description of phonemes’ places and manners of articulation. Several, sometimes contradictory, views and definitions of the DPF elements of Modern Standard Arabic have been proposed in the phonology literature. This contrast in views is a significant barrier against utilizing the advantages of DPFs in digital speech processing applications because computer systems do not deliver correct results under vague rules and models. This is a review paper that presents background on Arabic DPFs and in addition to highlighting the historical and geographical verities. It also addresses the problem of ambiguous definitions between classical and modern phonology that may introduce significant challenge to computer scientists and engineers when developing computer systems. Another contribution of this work is to investigate the deviations in phonemes and DPF elements across dialects of Arabic. This is important to provide engineers with better understanding when designing computer software targeting a wide spectrum of Arabic speaking users.

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  • 04 October 2018

    The affiliation of author Mansour Alghamdi reads: National Center for Assessment, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Email: m.ghamdi2@qiyas.org

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Acknowledgements

This project was funded by the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (MAARIFAH), King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Award Number (11-INF1968-02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), PO Box 1847, Riyadh, 11321, Saudi Arabia

    Yasser Seddiq

  2. College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Yousef Alotaibi & Ali Meftah

  3. LARIHS Lab. Université de Moncton, Campus de Shippagan, Shippagan, Canada

    Sid-Ahmed Selouani

  4. National Center for Assessment, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Mansour Alghamdi

Authors
  1. Yasser Seddiq
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  2. Yousef Alotaibi
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  3. Ali Meftah
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  4. Sid-Ahmed Selouani
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  5. Mansour Alghamdi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasser Seddiq.

Additional information

The original version of this article was revised. The affiliation of author Mansour Alghamdi reads: National Center for Assessment, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Email: m.ghamdi2@qiyas.org.

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Seddiq, Y., Alotaibi, Y., Meftah, A. et al. Revisiting distinctive phonetic features from applied computing perspective: unifying views and analyzing modern Arabic speech varieties. Int J Speech Technol 21, 907–913 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10772-018-9548-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10772-018-9548-z

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