Remote Recording

When the Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to in-person data collection, researchers shifted to collecting speech recordings through smartphones and video call apps like Zoom or Skype.

In collaboration with Dr. Paul De Decker of Memorial University of Newfoundland, we compared measurements of vowel spaces, vowel mergers, and vowel nasalization. This project tested the suitability of such recordings for linguistic research. We have since expanded to workshops and panels on remote data collection methods.

In short, self-recordings and video calls should be suitable for most remote vowel data collection. Laptops and video call apps made accurate recordings, but small mobile devices like smartphones and iPads added some distortion to frequencies between about 750 Hz and 1500 Hz. If your research question relies on small spectral differences, especially in low or back vowels, pay attention to the hardware your remote participants use (and consider asking them to use a laptop or external microphone rather than a phone or tablet). See our abstract for details.

Papers and Presentations

(*student authors)

- Freeman, V. (2023, January). Remote sociophonetic data collection. Full-day minicourse, Linguistic Society of America (LSA), Denver, CO.
- Freeman, V. & De Decker, P. (2021). Remote sociophonetic data collection: Vowels and nasalization from self-recordings on personal devices. Language and Linguistics Compass, 15(7), e12435.
- Freeman, V. & De Decker, P. (2021). Remote sociophonetic data collection: Vowels and nasalization over video conferencing apps. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 149(2), 1211–1223. [Invited paper, special issue on COVID-19 Pandemic Acoustic Effects.]
- Freeman, V. & De Decker, P. (2021, October). Are my vowels valid? Assessing speech acoustics from remote recordings on smartphones and video calls. Panel on Collecting Data in a Pandemic and Beyond, New Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAV 49), Austin, TX/Online.
- Freeman, V. (2021, June). Tips for collecting self-recordings on smartphones. Special Session on Methods and Examples of Speech Studies Remotely Conducted, Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Online.
- Freeman, V. (2021, March). Remote audio and video collection during the pandemic and beyond. Guest lecture, R. Smiljanic’s Research in Phonetics/Phonology graduate seminar and discussion group, University of Texas at Austin/Online.
- Freeman, V., De Decker, P., & *Landers, M. (2020, December). Suitability of self-recordings and video calls for phonetics analysis. University of Washington Phonetics Lab, Online.
- Freeman, V., De Decker, P., & *Landers, M. (2020, December). Suitability of self-recordings and video calls: Vowel formants and nasal spectra. Poster, Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Online.

Related Projects

Oklahoma English (self-recordings on smartphones)
What is "Country"? (group discussions on Zoom)
Speech-Rate Matching
Pandemic Effects on Speech Therapy

Collaborators & Students

Paul De Decker, Memorial University in Newfoundland
Molly Landers
Madison Pearson

Student Corner

Data and Materials

Audio recordings of two speakers (Western male, Oklahoman female) reading word lists and passages on several devices and apps like Zoom, and under different wifi strengths.
Praat TextGrids for each recording with hand-corrected word and vowel boundaries.
Measurements (F1, F2, duration) for "plain" vowels and prelaterals; spectral tilt for /æn/.
Passages, word lists, recording procedures, consent forms, IRB forms, etc.
Participant demographics and contact info.

Project Ideas

Compare devices/apps on other measures (pitch, VOT...)
Compare additional devices/conditions.
Play recordings on a loud speaker at a fixed distance from each new device.
Run tests with more talkers.