Paul Boersma
Encyclopedia
Paul Boersma is Professor of Phonetic Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. His research and teaching focus on the relationship between phonology
and phonetics
. Prof. dr. Boersma is mainly known for designing the worldwide used speech signal processing
program
Praat
(together with David Weenink).
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
and phonetics
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
. Prof. dr. Boersma is mainly known for designing the worldwide used speech signal processing
Speech signal processing
Speech signal processing refers to the acquisition, manipulation, storage, transfer and output of vocal utterances by a computer. The main applications are the recognition, synthesis and compression of human speech:...
program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
Praat
Praat
Praat is a free scientific software program for the analysis of speech in phonetics. It has been designed and continuously developed by Paul Boersma and David Weenink of the University of Amsterdam. It can run on a wide range of operating systems, including various Unix versions, Mac and Microsoft...
(together with David Weenink).