I first met Praat one late autumn day a couple of years ago when I was studying Linguistics in Barcelona. After spending weeks trying to figure out the sound we had drawn in a paper with the use of a ruler and a pencil, the teacher introduced us to Praat. I had the same thought little children have when after struggling to learn to solve the square root, they discover the calculator. Why no one told me there was already a machine that could do that? Happy to know that I could compare the Spanish vowels and the Icelandic ones with something easier than my ruler precision I started playing with Praat. I say playing because I did not really know how to use it.
It was again, two days ago, in a early autumn afternoon that I encountered Praat again. For my delight, this time it was explained by Daniel Hirst, the person in charged of the Yahoo list that gives support to Praat users. And for my delight again, I realized that I was only able to follow him raftly because I once learned to use the ruler.
This time, and having the duty to fulfill this blog as an excuse, I will try to learn to use Praat.
I encourage you to join me in the adventure of Praat. Comments, questions and ideas are welcome.
Manual for real Praat beginners: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/linguistics/corpora/material/PRAAT_workshop_manual_v421.pdf
To download Praat: http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/download_win.html
To join the Yahoo group: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/praat-users/
