The speaker's mask: a transdisciplinary interrogator of the complexity of speech

Call for papers

At the time of this call, the current health crisis still requires the world population to wear face masks designed to protect each individual from droplets and aerosols received or projected during breathing, speaking or singing. Several publications attest to the effectiveness of approved masks in this protection, which varies according to the material of the equipment and its duration of use. However, the study of these devices is also a matter for the human sciences. In particular, the language sciences are not left out in the study of the effects of the mask on the wearer's ability to be heard (Giovanelli et al. 2021) and intelligible (Palmiero et al. 2016), regardless of the communication situation or speech style (Cohn et al. 2021). Speech acoustics (Magee et al. 2020), phonetics, discourse analysis (Onipede 2021), modeling, recognition (Kodali et al. 2021), and psycholinguistics can, for example, be convened by such research regarding a current universal everyday concern. Although several publications have recently appeared in this field, many ways remain to be explored for this transdisciplinary subject.

In this volume, we propose to pursue the reflection ay least through the following thematic reflections:

• Speech perception: How does hiding the lower part of the face alter the receiver’s perception of the message produced by the emitter, and how does the latter adapt to this communicational change?

• Spoken articulation: How does the articulatory discomfort experienced by the masked speaker alter the management of speech production? Does it depend on the segmental and prosodic composition of the speech, on the speaking style or on the communication situation, or even on the representation that the speaker makes of the discomfort caused by the mask to his/her interlocutor?

• Voice: What are the effects of wearing a mask on the produced, perceived and felt timbre of the spoken, declaimed or sung voice, in an ecological situation (artistic for example, or in a training context)?

• Modeling and recognition of speech: What modeling and recognition of a 'masked speech signal' are possible? • Transmission of speech: What are the issues in terms of acquisition and education related to wearing a face mask? (Early childhood, schooling, native and foreign languages, teaching, etc.)

• Discourse analysis: What are the discourses produced in terms of behavior and reaction, emotions and affects, feelings and proprioception, nonverbal communication and aesthetics as a result of wearing the mask? Does wearing the mask (and subsequently dropping it) have any impact (positive or negative) on the speaker's self-esteem and confidence in front of a group? • Clinical phonetics and linguistics: What links can exist between pathologies of the areas covered by the mask and its use? Can the use of the mask cause significant alterations? What are the adaptations to be made when wearing the mask with respect to voice, speech or communication pathologies? Is wearing a mask linked to an increase in vocal fatigue in speakers who have to practice a profession that requires oral expression in front of a large audience?

• Engineering: How can knowledge of the effects of the mask on spoken communication be useful to designers of new devices that are better suited to the communication situation and/or the particularities of the target speakers? In this respect, this volume aims to bring together current research on the issues and effects of wearing a mask as they can be studied from the point of view of the various components of the language sciences (linguistics, phonetics, psycholinguistics, clinical phonetics and linguistics, didactics, sociolinguistics) and their implementation in certain communication contexts (speech therapy, psychology, artistic disciplines, etc.). These reflections, in their theoretical aspect, will contribute to the systemic analyses of oral communication, by providing, for example, data to enlighten the mechanisms of compensation, reorganization of voice, speech or discourse to this multi-effect, external disrupter (Vaxelaire et al. 2007) of language and oral communication systems. The examples of themes proposed above aim, by their diversity, to have the reader perceive the width of the epistemological span targeted by this volume of contributions. Other topics may of course be considered, provided that the research questions involved do question the impact of wearing a mask on the functioning of language and thus contribute, in a transdisciplinary approach, to develop knowledge about the latter. From an application point of view, it is hoped that the contributions collected can contribute to optimizing strategies to overcome the disturbances resulting from wearing the mask. Coordinators Claire Pillot-Loiseau, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, France Bernard Harmegnies, Université de Mons, Mons, Belgique Languages of publication: French, English

Author guidelines : https://revistes.uab.cat/languesparole/languesparole/languesparole/about/submissions

Timeline: May 30, 2022: deadline for submission of article proposals to be sent to: r.langues.parole@uab.cat, claire.pillot@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr, Bernard.HARMEGNIES@umons.ac.be

End of 2022: print and online publication of the issue Appel à contributions – Call for papers – Langue(s) & Parole, n°7, 2022 : le masque du locuteur 5

References

Cohn, M., Pycha, A., & Zellou, G. (2021). Intelligibility of face-masked speech depends on speaking style: Comparing casual, clear, and emotional speech. Cognition, 210, 1-5, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104570

Giovanelli, E., Valzolgher, C., Gessa, E., Todeschini, M., & Pavani, F. (2021). Unmasking the Difficulty of Listening to Talkers With Masks: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. i-Perception, 12(2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2041669521998393

Kodali, R. K., & Dhanekula, R. (2021). Face Mask Detection Using Deep Learning. In 2021 International Conference on Computer Communication and Informatics (ICCCI) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.

Magee, M., Lewis, C., Noffs, G., Reece, H., Chan, J. C., Zaga, C. J., ... & Vogel, A. P. (2020). Effects of face masks on acoustic analysis and speech perception: Implications for peri-pandemic protocols. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 148(6), 3562-3568.

Onipede, F. M. (2021). Nigerians' Reactions towards COVID-19 Pandemic Health Precautions: A Pragma-Semiotic Analysis, International Review of Social Sciences Research, Volume 1, Issue 1, pp. 1- 24.

Palmiero, A. J., Symons, D., Morgan III, J. W., & Shaffer, R. E. (2016). Speech intelligibility assessment of protective facemasks and air-purifying respirators. Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene, 13(12), 960-968.

Vaxelaire, B., Sock, R., Kleiber, G., Marsac, F. (2007). Perturbations et Réajustements. Langue et langage, Publications de l'Université Marc Bloch - Strasbourg 2.