An introduction to pluricentric languages in speech science and technology

Pluricentric languages are languages that are spoken in at least two countries where they have an official function and thus develop national varieties with specific linguistic and pragmatic features. Presently 43 languages have been identified as belonging to this category, for instance, English, Spanish, German, Bengali, Hindi and Urdu. This article forms an introduction to the special issue “Pluricentric Languages in Speech Science and Technology” by giving an overview of current challenges with respect to the development of speech and language resources, annotation and analysis tools, as well as speech technology services for pluricentric languages. The article discusses potential solutions that come from cross-fertilization: on the one hand, how phonetic and linguistic knowledge may contribute to advancements in speech technology, and on the other, how speech technology may facilitate phonetic and linguistic studies on pluricentric languages. In our discussion, we include the research methods and findings of the eight research articles of this special issue and point towards promising paths for future research in the field.