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Assistant Professor Department of Linguistics Ohio State University Office: Oxley Hall 24C Phone: (614) 292-8235 Fax: (614) 292-8833 clopper.1 AT osu.edu |
Mail: Oxley Hall 222 1712 Neil Avenue Columbus OH 43210 |
Office Hours (Winter 2012): Thursdays 3:30-5:30pm and by appointment |
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Research Projects
Effects of Linguistic and Indexical Sources of Variation on Speech Processing
My primary research interest is the role of variation in spoken language processing. One branch of my work in this area, supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS 1056409), explores the interaction between phonetic reduction, dialect variation, and linguistic sources of variation, such as lexical competition and semantic context, in both speech production and perception. The other branch examines the interactions between talker and listener dialect in speech perception and processing. Many of my experiments involve speech samples from The Nationwide Speech Project Corpus.
Perception of Socio-Indexical Information by Young Adults with High-Functioning Autism
In collaboration with Dr. Laura Wagner in the Department of Psychology at Ohio State, I have extended my earlier work on perceptual dialect classification to young adults with high-functioning autism (HFA). Our research uses explicit classification and language attitudes tasks to explore how young adults with HFA perceive information in the acoustic speech signal to make judgments about social categories, such as region of origin and age. (Partially supported by a Seed Grant from the Ohio State Center for Cognitive Science).
Prosodic Variation in American English
In collaboration with Dr. Rajka Smiljanic in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Texas, I am working on an examination of regional prosodic variation in American English, including intonation and temporal organization. (Partially supported by a Coca-Cola Critical Difference for Women Faculty Grant).
Phonetics-Semantics Interface in Paraguayan Guarani
In collaboration with Dr. Judith Tonhauser in the Department of Linguistics at Ohio State, I am exploring the prosody of focus in Paraguayan Guarani. (Partially supported by the Ohio State Office of International Affairs).
Research Opportunities for Undergraduates
Undergraduate research assistants are always welcome in Cynthia Clopper's Speech Perception Lab. Students can earn credit in 693 (Individual Studies in Linguistics) for work in the lab. Paid positions are also sometimes available. Students do not need to be linguistics majors to work in the lab. If you are interested in working on any of the projects described above, please contact Cynthia Clopper to discuss research opportunities.
Teaching
Linguistics (H)286, Analyzing the Sounds of Language
Linguistics 500, Introduction to Phonetics
Linguistics 600.02, Laboratory Phonology
Linguistics 795.03, Phonetics and Phonology Discussion Group (Phonies)
Linguistics 795.10, Quantitative Methods in Linguistics
Linguistics 825, Seminar in Advanced Phonetics, Recent Topics: Talker Variability, Second Language Phonetics and Phonology (Syllabus), Prosody and Meaning
Recent Publications
Clopper, C. G. (in press). Effects of dialect variation on the semantic predictability benefit. Language and Cognitive Processes.
Clopper, C. G., Rohrbeck, K. L., & Wagner, L. (in press). Perception of dialect variation by young adults with high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Clopper, C. G., & Smiljanic, R. (2011). Effects of gender and regional dialect on prosodic patterns in American English. Journal of Phonetics, 39, 237-245.
Bradlow, A., Clopper, C., Smiljanic, R., & Walter, M. A. (2010). A perceptual similarity space for languages: Evidence from five native language listener groups. Speech Communication, 52, 930-942.
Clopper, C. G., Pierrehumbert, J. B., & Tamati, T. N. (2010). Lexical neighborhoods and phonological confusability in cross-dialect word recognition in noise. Laboratory Phonology, 1, 65-92.
Clopper, C. G. (2009). Computational methods for normalizing acoustic vowel data for talker differences. Language and Linguistics Compass, 3, 1430-1442.
Clopper, C. G., & Bradlow, A. R. (2009). Free classification of American English dialects by native and non-native listeners. Journal of Phonetics, 37, 436-451.
Clopper, C. G. (2008). Auditory free classification: Methods and analysis. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 575-581.
Clopper, C. G., & Bradlow, A. R. (2008). Perception of dialect variation in noise: Intelligibility and classification. Language and Speech, 51, 175-198.
Clopper, C. G., & Pierrehumbert, J. B. (2008). Effects of semantic predictability and regional dialect on vowel space reduction. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 124, 1682-1688.
Clopper, C. G., & Pisoni, D. B. (2007). Free classification of regional dialects of American English. Journal of Phonetics, 35, 421-438.
Clopper, C. G., Levi, S. V., & Pisoni, D. B. (2006). Perceptual similarity of regional varieties of American English. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 119, 566-574.
Clopper, C. G., & Paolillo, J. C. (2006). North American English vowels: A factor analytic perspective. Literary and Linguistic Computing, 21, 445-462.
Clopper, C. G., & Pisoni, D. B. (2006). Effects of region of origin and geographic mobility on perceptual dialect categorization. Language Variation and Change, 18, 193-221.
Clopper, C. G., & Pisoni, D. B. (2006). The Nationwide Speech Project: A new corpus of American English dialects. Speech Communication, 48, 633-644.
Clopper, C. G., Pisoni, D. B., & Tierney, A. T. (2006). Effects of open-set and closed-set task demands on spoken word recognition. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 17, 331-349.
Clopper, C. G., Conrey, B. L., & Pisoni, D. B. (2005). Effects of talker gender on dialect categorization. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 24, 182-206.
Clopper, C. G., Pisoni, D. B., & de Jong, K. (2005). Acoustic characteristics of the vowel systems of six regional varieties of American English. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 118, 1661-1676.
Clopper, C. G. (2004). Linguistic Experience and the Perceptual Classification of Dialect Variation. Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University. PDF
Clopper, C. G., & Pisoni, D. B. (2004). Effects of talker variability on perceptual learning of dialects. Language and Speech, 47, 207-239.
Clopper, C. G., & Pisoni, D. B. (2004). Homebodies and army brats: Some effects of early linguistic experience and residential history on dialect categorization. Language Variation and Change, 16, 31-48.
Clopper, C. G., & Pisoni, D. B. (2004). Some acoustic cues for the perceptual categorization of American English regional dialects. Journal of Phonetics, 32, 111-140.
Non-Academic Interests
When I'm not doing research, I enjoy traveling. My most recent travel adventures have taken me to Spain, Paraguay, and Mexico.
I'm also a college basketball junkie. I follow Duke basketball with a passion, but I'll watch pretty much any game at the college level.