Ultrasound Investigation of Irish Palatalization (Phase 1, Connacht dialect)

This dataset documents the production of palatalized and velarized consonants in Connemara Irish gathered in 2010 using a portable ultrasound device. Ultrasound imaging provides direct information about tongue body shape and movement, crucial to an understanding of palatalization and velarization. We also recorded video of lip movement, and audio, simultaneously with the ultrasound video. The shape of the tongue body, and of the lips, were extracted from video and averaged by statistical means. This dataset is part of a larger project that documents the articulatory and acoustic properties of palatalization in the three major dialects of Irish (Connacht, Munster, and Ulster); material in this dataset comes from the Connacht dialect (Connemara Irish). This data is useful for researchers studying the effects on the palatalization contrast of consonant identity, vowel context, etc., as well as speaker strategies for maintaining contrast and coordinating gestures. In addition, learners and teachers of Irish can use this data for guidance on how to produce the Irish contrast between palatalized (slender) and velarized (broad) consonants.本数据集记录了2010年采用便携式超声设备采集的康尼马拉爱尔兰语（Connemara Irish）中腭化（palatalized）与软腭化（velarized）辅音的发音数据。超声成像（ultrasound imaging）可直接提供舌体形态与运动信息，这对理解腭化（palatalization）与软腭化（velarization）机制至关重要。研究团队同时采集了唇部运动视频与音频数据，并与超声视频同步录制。研究人员从视频中提取舌体与唇部形态，并通过统计学方法求取平均值。本数据集属于一项更大规模研究项目的组成部分，该项目旨在记录爱尔兰语三大主要方言（康诺特Connacht、芒斯特Munster与阿尔斯特Ulster）中辅音腭化的发音生理与声学特征；本数据集的材料均来自康诺特方言（即康尼马拉爱尔兰语）。该数据集可用于研究辅音特征、元音语境等因素对腭化对立的影响，以及说话者维持对立与协同发音动作的策略。此外，爱尔兰语学习者与教师也可借助该数据，掌握如何发出爱尔兰语中腭化（细音，slender）与软腭化（宽音，broad）辅音的对立发音。