Phonetic Properties of Oral Stops in Three Languages with No Voicing Distinction

Almost all studies on the phonetics of oral stop voicing patterns focus on languages with a voicing distinction. This gives rise to some debate regarding which aspects of voicing patterns arise from inherent articulatory effects related to the production of a voicing distinction, and which aspects are intentional adjustments by speakers meant to enhance a phonological contrast. This study investigates the phonetic properties of oral stops in three No Voicing Distinction (NVD) languages; Bardi (bcj), Arapaho (arp), and Sierra Norte de Puebla Nahuatl (azz). NVD languages do not utilize the larynx to maintain a contrast between any two sounds in their phoneme inventory. NVD languages do not use the larynx to produce any contrasts, and therefore present an opportunity to determine whether laryngeal defaults will emerge in this situation. Although NVD languages do not have a voicing distinction, there are a number of commonly accepted acoustic correlates of laryngeal properties that are based on observations from languages with a voicing distinction. The acoustic properties of NVD languages can be compared with patterns seen in languages with laryngeal contrasts as well as compared across the three languages to determine what phonetic patterns are shared across NVD languages. Acoustic correlates of voicing distinctions were measured from labial, coronal, and velar oral stops in four phonological contexts: phrase-initial, intervocalic, post-nasal, and phrase-final. Five acoustic properties commonly associated with voicing distinctions were measured: total oral stop duration, rate of lenition, phonated and silent closure duration, voice onset time (VOT), and preceding vowel duration. Overall, the findings from this dissertation serve to bridge the gap between phonetic science and phonological approaches to laryngeal properties. Results add to the discussions which relate to universal defaults, underspecification, and markedness principles in phonological systems. The results from this study suggest that while there are general phonetic processes which pose constraints on laryngeal properties in NVD languages, each of the three languages differed with regard to the implementation of these constraints. These results challenge universalist and markedness proposals which predict more uniformity when there is a lack of a contrast. Alternative approaches to explaining laryngeal properties which can account for more language-specific variation are better suited to explaining the results found in this study.­­ Each of the three languages studied in this project are endangered, under threat, and under-documented. Thus, a secondary aim of this dissertation is to highlight the contribution that endangered and under-documented languages can make to linguistic theory by expanding our understanding of the full range of human language structures

Loan Phonology

For many different reasons, speakers borrow words from other languages to fill gaps in their own lexical inventory. The past ten years have been characterized by a great interest among phonologists in the issue of how the nativization of loanwords occurs. The general feeling is that loanword nativization provides a direct window for observing how acoustic cues are categorized in terms of the distinctive features relevant to the L1 phonological system as well as for studying L1 phonological processes in action and thus to the true synchronic phonology of L1. The collection of essays presented in this volume provides an overview of the complex issues phonologists face when investigating this phenomenon and, more generally, the ways in which unfamiliar sounds and sound sequences are adapted to converge with the native language’s sound pattern. This book is of interest to theoretical phonologists as well as to linguists interested in language contact phenomena

Covariation of acoustic cues for voicing in aphasia and apraxia

Altres ajuts: ANR-11-LABX-0036 (BLRI), ANR-11-IDEX-0001- (A*MIDEX).We report experimental evidence on covariation between vowel onset f0 and voice onset time (VOT) in voiced and voiceless stops produced by Spanish speakers with apraxia of speech and conduction aphasia as compared to a healthy control group. These two disorders are argued to affect different components of the same dorsal stream involved in mapping sounds onto motor-based representations. On the assumption that acoustic cue covariation reflects-albeit indirectly-trade-off relationships in speech production, we explore how these deficits affect compensatory articulation. Our findings show a trade-off relationship between f0 and VOT for voiced but not voiceless stops in the control and conduction aphasia groups, and in some apraxic speakers. Interestingly, the apraxic group shows compensatory cue correlation in devoiced stops. We relate observed patterns in cue trade-off to the internal structure of phonetic categories and compensatory articulation

Cross-language study of voicing contrasts of stop consonants in Asian languages

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D96488 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Development of Voice Onset Time in Arabic

The research investigated development of voice onset time (VOT) contrasts in children who spoke Jordanian Arabic. The factors investigated were: (1) the age at which VOT contrast is acquired; and (2) the role of place of articulation and emphasis on VOT development. One hundred and twenty children (60 males, 60 females; age range 2;0–7;11) produced word-initial plosives. Linear Mixed Model (LMM), Bonferroni post hoc and t test analyses were conducted on the data. Results revealed that age, place of articulation, and emphasis had significant effects on VOT. In addition, Arabic appeared to follow the general trend of VOT development reported for other voicing languages

Consonantal voicing effects on vowel duration in Italian-English bilinguals

This project reported in this dissertation analyzes phonetic details of the speech patterns in one of New York\u27s bilingual communities, asking whether a bilingual speaker can attain native-like proficiency in both languages and the extent to which authenticity — maintenance of language-specific settings — is sustainable. Researchers have established that Italian and English differ strikingly in their characteristic time settings for vowel durations: durations are greater for vowels preceding voiced consonants, e.g., cab, rather than voiceless, e.g., cap. This duration difference, termed the consonantal voicing effect (CVE), is notably greater for English than for Italian. The greater magnitude of the CVE found with English is considered to be a phonological enhancement of a basic phonetic process. Utilizing a speech production task, the study reported compares the performance of Italian-born bilinguals for whom English was acquired in adulthood, as a second language, with that of U.S.-born speakers who experienced simultaneous acquisition of their languages (albeit in an English-dominant setting). In separate sessions for each language, speakers produced utterances in which the target word, situated inside a carrier phrase, contrasted in [voice] value for the post-vocalic consonant, e.g., Say the word « ___ » to me. Stimuli were familiar words selected to sample the vowel inventories for each language and for which the voicing contrast was realized through the inventory of stops common to both languages. Analyses revealed no evidence of influence of the second language on the CVE for the first language for either group, despite an extended immersion period in an English-language environment for the foreign-born speakers and simultaneous exposure to both languages from birth for the U.S.-born speakers. But crucially, there was evidence of an influence of the first language in the timing settings found for the CVE in the second language, for both speaker groups: the foreign-born speakers managed to increase the magnitude of the CVE-English but failed to fully implement the phonological mechanism consistent with larger CVE values for that language; and the U.S.-born speakers managed to reduce the magnitude of the CVE-Italian but failed to fully suppress that same mechanism. Results are discussed in relation to language-specific timing patterns and the extent to which a dominant language may influence production in the non-dominant language

Lenition, Perception, and Neutralisation

This paper argues that processes traditionally classified as lenition fall into at least two subsets with distinct phonetic reflexes, formal properties, and characteristic contexts. One type, referred to as loss lenition, frequently neutralises contrasts in positions where they are perceptually indistinct. The second type, referred to as continuity lenition, can target segments in perceptually robust positions, increases the intensity and/or decreases the duration of those segments, and very rarely results in positional neutralisation of contrasts. While loss lenition behaves much like other phonological processes, analysing continuity lenition is difficult or impossible in standard phonological approaches. We develop a phonetically based optimality-theoretic account that explains the typology of the two types of lenition. The crucial proposal is that, unlike loss lenition, continuity lenition is driven by constraints that reference multiple prosodic positions

Perception of English and Polish obstruents

Praca niniejsza koncentruje się na kontraście dźwięczna-bezdźwięczna w percepcji angielskich i polskich spółgłosek właściwych. Metodologia badań oparta została na manipulacji akustycznej parametrów temporalnych i spektralnych, które biorą udział w implementacji kontrastu dźwięczności w badanych językach. Porównane zastałych trzy grupy badanych – początkujący uczący się języka angielskiego, zaawansowani użytkownicy języka angielskiego, oraz rodowici mówcy języka angielskiego. Praca składa się z dwóch części teoretycznych, ilustrujących problematykę i kontrastujących strategie implementacji kontrastu dźwięczności w badanych językach, oraz części badawczej, prezentującej zastosowaną metodologię badań oraz analizę wyników. Część pierwsza porusza problem roli percepcji mowy w badaniach językoznawczych. Dotyka takich aspektów jak brak bezpośredniej relacji między sygnałem dźwiękowym a kategorią fonologiczną, wyjątkowa plastyczność i zdolność adaptacyjna ludzkiej percepcji mowy, oraz referuje propozycje dotyczące kompleksowego opisu działania ludzkiej percepcji mowy. W kolejnych podrozdziałach praca omawia percepcję w kontekście kontaktu językowego, a więc rozróżnianie kontrastów akustycznych występujących w języku obcym, ale nieobecnych w języku pierwszym. Zostają również zrecenzowane modele, które taki proces opisują, jak i hipotezy opisujące potencjalny sukces w opanowaniu efektywnej percepcji kontrastów percepcyjnych występujących w języku obcym. Część druga koncentruje się na różnicach temporalnych i akustycznych w implementacji dźwięczności w języku angielskim i polskim. Opisane zostają aspekty takie jak; Voice Onset Time, długość samogłoski, długość zwarcia, długość frykcji, ubezdźwięcznienie, długość wybuchu. Cześć trzecia, badawcza, prezentuje materiał poddany badaniu, metodologię manipulacji materiału, oraz charakterystykę grup. Hipotezy oparte na założeniach teoretycznych są następnie weryfikowane przy pomocy otrzymanych wyników. Część końcowa omawia problemy percepcyjne, jakie spotykają Polaków uczących się języka angielskiego oraz wyciąga wnioski pedagogiczne