Real-time MRI for Portuguese: Database, methods and applications

Abstract

In this paper, we present a database of synchronized audio and Real-Time Magnetic Resonance Imaging (RT-MRI) in order to study dynamic aspects of the production of European Portuguese (EP) sounds. Currently, data have been acquired from one native speaker of European Portuguese. The speech corpus was primarily designed to investigate nasal vowels in a wide range of phonological contexts, but also includes examples of other EP sounds. The RT-MRI protocol developed for the acquisition of the data is detailed. Midsagittal and oblique images were acquired with a frame rate of 14 frames/s, resulting in a temporal resolution of 72 ms. Different image processing tools (automatic and semi-automatic) applied for inspection and analysis of the data are described. We demonstrate the potential of this database and processing techniques with some illustrative examples of Portuguese nasal vowels, taps, trills and laterals. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.