Comparison of Korean, Chinese and English language descriptions of spatial audio reproduction

Abstract

This thesis aims to explore the attributes that describe the audible differences between the spatial sounds captured using three recording techniques in Korean and to compare cross-cultural perceptual distinctions between Korean, Chinese and English. Verbal elicitation was completed just by native Korean-speaker listeners, and according to the result of the trial, 14 attributes pairs, representing the most salient differences between the auditory imagery, were selected for further rating experiment. These words with detailed descriptions were used as anchors for each of the nine stimuli on which rated by all of the listeners. Fourteen bipolar attributes in three languages were compared, then, principle component analysis (PCA) was applied to reduce a large set of variables into four main factors and make the equivalence of perceptual dimensions. The result of the analysis showed dimensions of the Korean, Chinese and English equivalent into four factors. However, the differences still exist between three groups. The attribute front/back more related to enveloped/unenveloped in factor 3 in English group than the other two, and reverberant/unreverberant related more with enveloped/unenveloped in factor 1 in Chinese group.