1,720,968 research outputs found
A non-contrastive cue in spontaneous imitation: Comparing mono- and bilingual imitators
No full textThis study tests the hypothesis that imitators of different native languages imitate the same targets in distinct ways predicted by their native phonology, by investigating the role of a non-contrastive phonetic property in spontaneous imitation of English voiceless stops by English monolingual and Seoul Korean-English bilingual imitators. The primarily contrastive phonetic property for English voiceless stops is voice onset time (VOT), with the fundamental frequency (f0) of the post-stop vowel being non-contrastive but still informative for the voicing contrast. On the other hand, in Seoul Korean, stop VOT is a non-primary cue, but it is necessary to maintain the full three-way laryngeal contrast in the language. Post-stop f0 is the primary cue for the Seoul Korean aspirated stops. Seoul Korean speakers have been reported to imitate aspirated stops with longer VOT by raising their post-stop f0 (Kwon, 2019). In this study, English monolingual speakers and Seoul Korean-English bilingual speakers heard and shadowed model speech containing English voiceless stops manipulated by either raising post-stop f0 or lengthening VOT. Their imitation was assessed with two acoustic measurements, stop VOT and post-onset f0, of the voiceless stops, before and after the imitators heard the model speech with the two manipulations. A separate discrimination test confirmed that both manipulations were reliably perceived by both the monolingual and the bilingual imitators. English monolingual speakers' imitation data suggest that their shadowing productions reflect the phonological significance of the two phonetic properties, and only the imitative changes induced by a contrastive cue last beyond the immediate shadowing targets. In addition, Seoul Korean-English bilingual speakers, when performing the spontaneous imitation tasks in English, do not draw on their native (Seoul Korean) phonology. Implications of these findings on the role of phonology in the spontaneous imitation of bilingual and monolingual speakers are discussed. CO 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.N
Language experience, speech perception and loanword adaptation: Variable adaptation of English word-final plosives into Korean
No full text© 2016 Elsevier LtdThis study examines the influence of experience with the source language for loanwords on loanword adaptation, asking whether the influence can be attributed to listener-borrowers perception of the source language. The study focuses on variable insertion of /ɨ/ after word-final plosives in novel English words borrowed into Korean. Korean participants who differ in the extent of their English experience are asked to borrow English non-word stimuli ending on a coda plosive into Korean by attaching appropriate Korean case-markers to the stimuli. Korean case-marker allomorphy determines whether the participants insert /ɨ/ after the coda plosives or not. Four context factors, namely, coda release, coda voicing, coda place of articulation, and pre-coda vowel tenseness, are investigated. The results indicate that Korean listeners experience with English influences how they perform the task of borrowing, or adding a case-marker suffix to, English non-words. The effects of the four context factors on the variable vowel insertion are influenced by the listeners English experience: Listeners responses in the borrowing task reflect that less experienced listeners are more attentive to non-contrastive phonetic information, such as coda release, than more experienced listeners. The different perception of English sounds altered by the listeners English experience is proposed to be responsible for the seemingly random variation in loanword adaptation patterns.N
Production and Perception of Mandarin Laryngeal Contrast: The Role of Post-plosive F0
No full textCopyright © 2022 Guo and Kwon.This study examines the relation between plosive aspiration and post-plosive f0 (fundamental frequency) in the production and perception of the laryngeal contrast in Mandarin. Production data from 25 Mandarin speakers showed that, in word onsets, VOTs (voice onset time) of aspirated and unaspirated plosives were different, as expected. At the same time, the speakers produced different post-plosive f0 between aspirated and unaspirated plosives, but the difference varied according to the lexical tones – post-aspirated f0 was higher than post-unaspirated f0 in high-initial tones (i.e., lexical tones with high onset f0), but the pattern was the opposite and less robust in low-initial tones. In the perception of the same participants, VOT was the primary cue to aspiration but, when VOT was ambiguous, high post-plosive f0 yielded more aspirated responses in general. We claim that the asymmetry in f0 perturbation between high-initial and low-initial tones in production arises from different laryngeal maneuvers for different tonal targets. In low-initial tones, in which the vocal folds are slack and the glottal opening is wider, aspirated plosives have a lower subglottal air pressure than unaspirated plosives at the voicing onset, resulting in lower post-aspirated f0 than post-unaspirated f0. But in high-initial tones, the vocal folds are tense, which requires a higher trans-glottal pressure threshold to initiate phonation at the onset of voicing. As a result, the subglottal pressure does not decrease as much. Instead, the faster airflow in aspirated than unaspirated plosives gives rise to the pattern that post-aspirated f0 is higher than post-unaspirated f0. Regardless of this variation in production, our perception data suggest that Mandarin listeners generalize the f0 perturbation patterns from high-initial tones and associate high post-plosive f0 with aspirated plosives even in low-initial tone contexts. We cautiously claim that the observed perceptual pattern is consistent with the robustly represented production pattern, as high-initial tones are more prevalent and salient in the language and exhibit stronger f0 perturbation in the speakers' productions.N
The role of native phonology in spontaneous imitation: Evidence from Seoul Korean
Full text linkThis study investigates the role of phonology in spontaneous imitation in Seoul Korean speakers’ imitation of aspirated stops by comparing the primary and non-primary cues. Seoul Korean aspirated stops are differentiated from stops of other phonation types by at least two distinct acoustic properties, stop VOT and f0 of the post-stop vowel, with the latter being the primary cue. In the imitation experiment, Seoul Korean speakers heard and shadowed model speech that contained aspirated stops manipulated by either raising post-stop f0 or lengthening VOT. Their realization of these properties in /tʰ/, /t/, and /t*/ productions were compared before, during, and after exposure. Although both high f0 and long VOT induced imitative changes in post-shadowing productions, the results revealed that exposure to an enhanced non-primary cue (long VOT) also influences the production of the primary cue for aspirated stops (post-stop f0). However, an enhanced primary cue (high f0) does not have similar effects on the non-primary cue. These results provide evidence that spontaneous imitation is not strictly tied to individual phonetic properties but it is rather phonological in that abstract categories are involved in the process of imitation
Generalization of spontaneous imitation from nonwords to real words
No full textThis study reports that English speakers, after shadowing English-like nonwords beginning on /p/ with extended voice onset time, spontaneously shifted their subsequent reading productions of English words converging toward the shadowing targets. The extent of the imitative changes correlated positively with the speakers' declarative memory of the nonwords, but not with the lexical frequency of the produced words. These findings provide evidence for the phoneme-level abstraction in perceptually induced phonetic drifts while they further suggest that the mechanisms underlying phonetic drifts in direct shadowing, and in subsequent productions of words differing from the shadowing targets, may not be identical. (C) 2023 Author(s).Y
Tongue position in Mandarin Chinese voiceless stops
No full textThe current study explores whether Mandarin initial and medial voiceless unaspirated and voiceless aspirated stops differ in their tongue positions and post-vocalic voicing during closure. Ultrasound tongue imaging and acoustic data from five Mandarin speakers revealed (1) no consistent pattern for tongue positions among speakers, and (2) no difference in degree of voicing during closure between the two stop series. These findings suggest that tongue position is not a reliable articulatory correlate for Mandarin laryngeal contrasts. This further suggests that aspiration is not correlated with tongue position differences, unlike the reported correlation between voicing and tongue root advancement.Y
Perception of illusory clusters: the role of native timing
No full textWe explore the influence of native timing patterns on nonnative speech perception, by asking whether a nonnative CVCV sequence can be perceived as CCV when the temporal organization of nonnative CVCV is similar to native CCV. To explore this question, Georgian listeners are tested on a CCa-CVCa discrimination in French. Georgian has a rich word-onset cluster inventory, with component consonants loosely timed. The loose timing often, though not always, results in a schwa-like CC transition. French, the stimulus language, exhibits tighter timing in biconsonantal clusters, no vocalic transitions, and a reduced non-prominent first vowel in CVCa sequences. We hypothesize that the cross-language difference in inter-consonantal timing can facilitate the perception of an illusory cluster when Georgian listeners hear French CVCa. The findings reveal such perceptual confusion, particularly in the CCa-CoCa contrast in which the nonnative /& oslash;/ is phonetically similar to the CC transition in Georgian, both in terms of temporal organizations and tongue shape. This confirms the possibility of illusory clusters, which is consistent with the interpretation that Georgian listeners utilize their knowledge of how word-onset CC clusters are temporally implemented in their native language when responding to the task. We propose that the timing pattern may constitute language-specific knowledge and that it can influence the perceptual assimilation patterns in nonnative speech perception.Y
THE PRODUCTION AND PERCEPTION OF EMPHASIS IN QASSIMI ARABIC
Full text linkThis work is embargoed by the author and will not be publicly available until December 2025.This dissertation explores emphasis effects (EE) in Qassimi Arabic (QA), examining whether EE functions as a phonetic or phonological process. EE is a well-documented phenomenon in Arabic linguistics, involving the influence of emphatic consonants on neighboring segments (Ghazali, 1977; Card, 1983; Davis, 1995; among others). The study also investigates emphasis perception in QA, specifically whether EE cues assist native QA listeners in identifying preceding or following consonants as emphatic or plain.As prior research exploring EE in various Arabic varieties has revealed variation among them, and limited research exists on emphasis perception by native Arabic listeners, this dissertation addresses these gaps by examining EE production and emphasis perception in the understudied variety of QA. In the production experiment, dynamic aspects of leftward and rightward EE on QA vowels were examined by analyzing second formants (F2) at 11 temporal points. Results indicate that leftward EE had a categorical effect on non-high vowels [a] and [aː], as well as the high front vowel [i], impacting them throughout their duration, providing evidence for it being a phonological process in QA. In contrast, rightward EE primarily affected the vowel onset, suggesting it as a gradual phonetic process rather than a categorical phonological one. In the perception experiments, the perceptual correlates of emphasis in QA were investigated using the gating paradigm (Grosjean, 1980). Native QA listeners accurately identified the following consonant using leftward EE cues, even within the shortest gate containing one-third of the vowel, indicating proficiency in using leftward EE cues throughout the vowel. However, for rightward EE cues, accuracy in identifying the preceding consonant as emphatic or plain improved significantly only when the entire vowel duration was audible. These findings align with the production experiment, confirming leftward EE as a phonological process and rightward EE as a phonetic process. The dissertation’s results have implications for understanding EE and emphasis perception in QA, emphasizing the importance of considering both phonological and phonetic processes when investigating EE and highlighting the significance of coarticulatory information in rightward emphasis perception. This nuanced understanding advances research into emphasis across Arabic varieties and Semitic languages.2025-12-1
Articulatory Properties Of Saudi Arabic Coronals And Cross-Language Assimilation: The Case Of Saudi Arabic And Seoul Korean Listeners
Full text linkThe Perceptual Assimilation Model (PAM) (Best, 1995) claims listeners directly perceive articulatory gestures of the vocal tract rather than acoustic/auditory signals. Accordingly, the articulatory similarities and discrepancies between native and non-native sounds determine the perceptual assimilation patterns of non-native sounds. This study provides empirical data to verify PAM’s claims by testing two languages with typologically less common consonants, Saudi Arabic and Seoul Korean. In Saudi Arabic, coronal consonants can be pharyngealized (emphatics) and consonant duration is contrastive (singletons vs. geminates). On the other hand, Seoul Korean has a three-way laryngeal contrast for stops and a two-way fricative contrast for fricatives, and all these consonants are phonemically voiceless. This study investigates cross-language perception in which naïve Saudi Arabic listeners hear Seoul Korean sounds (/th t t* sh s*/) and Seoul Korean listeners hear Saudi Arabic sounds (/t tʕ d s sʕ/ and their geminate counterparts). By doing so, I examine how each group assimilates non-native sounds to their native categories and to what extent articulatory similarities and discrepancies between native and non-native sounds predict the way listeners perceive unfamiliar sounds.This study is composed of one production experiment and two perception experiments. Unlike Seoul Korean, little is known about the articulatory properties of Saudi Arabic sounds. While the understanding of Seoul Korean sounds is based on previous phonetic work on Seoul Korean obstruents (e.g., Kim et al., 2010, among many others), the production experiment in this study aims to understand the articulatory configurations of previously unstudied Saudi Arabic coronal obstruents. As the first step to explore the relationship between articulation and perception, the production experiment investigates the tongue root configuration and its articulatory properties during Saudi Arabic speakers’ productions of coronal obstruents, using ultrasound tongue imaging. As previous studies, on other languages, focus on either voicing or gemination or on either stops or fricatives in initial position, I additionally examine the effect of gemination, voicing, and manner of articulation (stops vs. fricatives, including emphatics) on tongue root configuration when producing intervocalic obstruents, as well as their phonetic properties, such as duration of constriction, voice onset time (VOT), presence and absence of vocal fold vibration, and flanking vowel duration. The articulatory findings indicate that tongue root position is significantly affected by gemination and voicing such that tongue root advancement is observed among voiced and geminate consonants. Manner of articulation does not make a significant difference in tongue root position, with stops and fricatives behaving similarly. In terms of other phonetic measures, the results confirm that Southern Saudi Arabic has contrastive consonant duration in word-medial position, where geminate coronals have a longer constriction duration than singletons. The findings on VOT, which represents the phasing relation between stop release gesture and the glottal opening gesture, also show this dialect is a true voiced language with pre-voiced, unaspirated emphatic, and aspirated stops. The duration of the vowel preceding the obstruent is short and the one following the obstruent is long in geminate contexts, while the opposite is true in singleton contexts.Based on PAM, the findings from the production experiment, and previous works on Seoul Korean obstruents, I offer a set of testable predictions for how Saudi Arabic and Seoul Korean listeners perceive sounds from the other language. The predictions are tested in cross-language perceptual assimilation experiments. The results are consistent with the predictions except for a few notable patterns. Listeners generally assimilate non-native sounds to the native counterparts involving the same articulator, constriction location, VOT, and/or constriction duration, as found in Saudi Arabic /t d s sʕ/ and /tː dː sː sʕː/ and Seoul Korean /th t t* sh s*/. However, Saudi Arabic emphatic stops /tʕ tʕː/ are assimilated more frequently as Seoul Korean labials /p p*/ than coronals. This emphatic- to-labial assimilation pattern is not expected because /tʕ tʕː/ and /p p*/ have different places of articulation. A possible explanation could be their acoustic, but not articulatory, similarity since pharyngealized and labial sounds usually lower the F2 of adjacent vowels, which might lead Seoul Korean listeners to assimilate emphatic consonants to labial consonants. Taken together, the findings suggest that non-native perception is not exclusively articulatory but also acoustic. In addition to articulatory gestures, the current results could call for a revision of PAM’s principles to include a reference to acoustic properties in its predictions. The perception experiments reveal that non-native listeners attend to articulatory as well as acoustic features, relying on the acoustics of sounds articulatorily different from their native sound categories
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