Dear Praat users,
you can now download Praat version 4.4 from www.praat.org. The changes since version 4.3 include:
Graphics: as a phonetic font, Praat now uses SILDoulosIPA93 instead of the 1989 version. For best results with phonetic characters, you should install it. EPS files with phonetic characters now use XIPA (open source) rather than SIL IPA. Fontless EPS files can use either XIPA or SIL IPA.
Phonetic analysis: pitch-corrected LTAS.
Synthesis: you can now use glottal wave forms for more natural-sounding synthesis of voiced sounds.
Annotation: the TextGrid window can now paint intervals green if they match a certain text.
Platforms: the MacOS 7 version is not continued. You now need at least MacOS 8.5. It is likely that within a year, with Apple's transition to Intel processors, the Classic MacOS version will be discontinued completely. Praat would then require at least MacOS 10.2.
Listening experiments: you can now use different button texts for each stimulus, you can use a Replay button, an OK button, and an Oops button, and you can have sounds as responses, for instance for prototype judgments, as when the task is "find the best /i/ token".
Statistics: Principal Component Analysis now supports tables with more variables (columns) than cases (rows).
Optimality Theoretic learning: support for bidirectional multi-representation parallel learning (ask), and for computing crucial rankings.
Scripting: regular expressions can now be used in many places.
best wishes,
Paul