The Value of Regional Languages in Indonesia: An Acoustic Analysis using Praat
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Abstract
Formants are the defining frequency components of acoustic signals in human speech and play a crucial role in shaping vocal quality. This study aims to identify and describe the formant values (F1, F2, and F3) of five Indonesian regional languages: Ambon, Bugis, Nias, Sundanese, and Serui Papua. Employing a qualitative descriptive design within an acoustic phonetics framework, data were elicited from native speakers’ utterances and analysed using PRAAT software to extract formant values and their distributional patterns. The findings reveal notable cross-linguistic variation. Bugis exhibits the richest vowel inventory, with 39 vowels across 12 lexical items, whereas Nias has the smallest set, with 19 vowels from 6 lexical items. Regarding acoustic measurements, the highest F1 value was observed in Ambon (1210 Hz), the highest F2 in Sundanese (2417 Hz), and the highest F3 also in Ambon (3250 Hz). Conversely, the lowest F1 was recorded in Nias (337 Hz), the lowest F2 in Serui Papua (1007 Hz), and the lowest F3 in Bugis (2171 Hz). These results confirm that cross-linguistic variation in formant distribution reflects the distinctive articulatory characteristics of each language. The study contributes to comparative phonetic research while also supporting regional language preservation through acoustic documentation, which can inform educational practice, voice recognition technologies, and language revitalisation initiatives.
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