Praat
Definition
Open-source acoustic analysis software developed by Paul Boersma and David Weenink at the University of Amsterdam, used by virtually all forensic phoneticians globally for formant extraction, F0 analysis, VOT measurement, and spectrogram display.
- Type
- Open-source acoustic analysis software
- Developers
- Paul Boersma and David Weenink
- Institution
- University of Amsterdam
- Core uses
- Formant extraction, F0, VOT, spectrogram display
- Adoption
- Standard tool among forensic phoneticians worldwide
Common questions
Why has Praat become the de facto standard in forensic phonetics?+
It is free, actively maintained, and covers the full set of acoustic measurements forensic phoneticians need in one package, so results from different labs and countries can be compared using a common, well-documented tool rather than proprietary software with varying algorithms.
Does using Praat guarantee a reliable speaker comparison?+
No. Praat only extracts and displays acoustic measurements; the reliability of a comparison still depends on recording quality, the statistical framework applied to the measurements, and the analyst's judgment, so the software is one part of a wider forensic phonetic method, not a verdict generator.
Related terms
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA 2023)
- India's evidence law replacing the Indian Evidence Act 1872, governing admissibility of expert testimony (Section 39) including forensic phonetic evidence. Does not...
- Code-Switching
- Shifting between different registers or even different languages within an interaction, often as a signal of role or authority. An interviewer who...
- DyViS Corpus
- The Dynamic Variability in Speech corpus (Nolan et al., 2009), a UK English speaker database collected under conditions designed to simulate forensic...
- Formant
- A resonance peak in the vocal tract filter; F1 and F2 together characterise vowel quality (height and frontness), while F3 and higher...
- IAFPA (International Association of Forensic Phonetics and Acoustics)
- The professional organisation for forensic phoneticians, founded in 1991 following the collapse of the voiceprint paradigm. Maintains a code of conduct, annual...
- Lexical Tone
- A tone system in which F0 patterns carry word-meaning distinctions. Mandarin (four tones) and Punjabi (three tones) are the forensically most common...
- Long-Term Average Spectrum (LTAS)
- The averaged spectral energy distribution across a long recording segment, capturing the habitual spectral envelope of a speaker's voice. Useful as a...
- Speaker Profiling
- The use of phonetic and linguistic features to infer a speaker's regional origin, language background, age, sex, or social group from a...
- Voice Onset Time (VOT)
- The interval between the release of a stop consonant closure and the onset of vocal fold vibration for the following vowel. VOT...