AusTalk

Chief investigators at the University of Melbourne

Dr Deborah Loakes, Professor Janet Fletcher, Professor John Hajek

Type

ARC LIEF grant

Lead institution

University of Western Sydney

Other institutions

Universities of Canberra, Western Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Melbourne, Queensland, Tasmania, the Australian National University, Flinders University, and Macquarie University

Other partners

Max Planck Institute and the Australasian Speech Science and Technology Association

Overview

AusTalk is a large state-of-the-art database of modern spoken Australian English from all around the country. Recorded between June 2011 and June 2016, the final database contains full audio-visual data for 861 adult speakers (with age ranging from 18 to 83) from 15 different locations in all Australian states and territories, representing the regional and social diversity and linguistic variation of Australian English, including Australian Aboriginal English. Each speaker was recorded for one hour on three separate occasions to sample their voice in a range of scripted and spontaneous speech situations at various times.