Context effects on second-language learning of tonal contrasts.

Studies of lexical tone  learning generally focus on monosyllabic contexts, while reports of phonetic learning benefits associated with input variability are based largely on experienced learners. This study trained inexperienced learners on Mandarin tonal contrasts to test two hypotheses regarding the influence of context and variability on tone  learning. The first hypothesis was that increased phonetic variability of tones in disyllabic contexts makes initial tone  learning more challenging in disyllabic than monosyllabic words. The second hypothesis was that the learnability of a given tone varies across contexts due to differences in tonal variability. Results of a word learning experiment supported both hypotheses: tones were acquired less successfully in disyllables than in monosyllables, and the relative difficulty of disyllables was closely related to contextual tonal variability. These results indicate limited relevance of monosyllable-based data on Mandarin learning for the disyllabic majority of the Mandarin lexicon. Furthermore, in the short term, variability can diminish learning; its effects are not necessarily beneficial but dependent on acquisition stage and other learner characteristics. These findings thus highlight the importance of considering contextual variability and the interaction between variability and type of learner in the design, interpretation, and application of research on phonetic learning

Self-Repair Devices in Classroom Monologue Discourse

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Acoustic Features and Perceptive Cues of Songs and Dialogues in Whistled Speech: Convergences with Sung Speech

Whistled speech is a little studied local use of language shaped by several cultures of the world either for distant dialogues or for rendering traditional songs. This practice consists of an emulation of the voice thanks to a simple modulated pitch. It is therefore the result of a transformation of the vocal signal that implies simplifications in the frequency domain. The whistlers adapt their productions to the way each language combines the qualities of height perceived simultaneously by the human ear in the complex frequency spectrum of the spoken or sung voice (pitch, timbre). As a consequence, this practice underlines key acoustic cues for the intelligibility of the concerned languages. The present study provides an analysis of the acoustic and phonetic features selected by whistled speech in several traditions either in purely oral whistles (Spanish, Turkish, Mazatec) or in whistles produced with an instrument like a leaf (Akha, Hmong). It underlines the convergences with the strategies of the singing voice to reach the audience or to render the phonetic information carried by the vowel (tone, identity) and some aesthetic effects like ornamentation

Prosodic description: An introduction for fieldworkers

This article provides an introductory tutorial on prosodic features such as tone and accent for researchers working on little-known languages. It specifically addresses the needs of non-specialists and thus does not presuppose knowledge of the phonetics and phonology of prosodic features. Instead, it intends to introduce the uninitiated reader to a field often shied away from because of its (in part real, but in part also just imagined) complexities. It consists of a concise overview of the basic phonetic phenomena (section 2) and the major categories and problems of their functional and phonological analysis (sections 3 and 4). Section 5 gives practical advice for documenting and analyzing prosodic features in the field.National Foreign Language Resource Cente

Production of neutral tone in Mandarin by heritage, native, and second language speakers

This study examined the properties of neutral tone (T0) in Mandarin as produced by three groups: native speakers raised in a Mandarin-speaking environment (L1ers), second language learners raised in an English-speaking environment (L2ers), and heritage language speakers (HLers) exposed to Mandarin from birth but currently dominant in English. T0 production was elicited in both obligatory and non-obligatory contexts, acoustically analyzed, and perceptually evaluated by Mandarin L1ers. Acoustic data indicated little difference among groups in pitch contour, but significant differences in duration, especially in the non-obligatory context. Perceptual data revealed relatively low intelligibility of T0 overall, but also a group difference whereby L2ers tended to outperform HLers in the non-obligatory context; nevertheless, L2ers received the lowest goodness ratings, across both contexts. These results thus suggest that phonetic differences between HLers and L2ers are not unidirectional, but instead vary across aspects of the language in accordance with differences in speakers’ linguistic experience.Accepted manuscriptPublished versio

WH-words are not ‘interrogative’ pronouns : the derivation of interrogative interpretations for constituent questions

I discuss the status of WH-words for interrogative interpretations, and show that the derivation of constituent questions evolves from a specific interplay of syntactic and semantic representations with pragmatics. I argue that WH-pronouns are not ‘interrogative’. Rather, they are underspecified elements; due to this underspecification, WH-words can form a constitutive part not only of interrogative, but also of exclamative and declarative clauses. WH-words introduce a variable of a particular conceptual domain into the semantic representation. Accordingly, they have to be specified for interpretation. Different WH-contexts give rise to different interpretations. In a cross-linguistic overview, I discuss the characteristic elements contributing to the derivation of interrogatives. I argue that specific particles or their phonologically empty counterparts in the head of CP contribute the interrogative aspect. The speech act of ‘asking’ is then carried out via an intonational contour that identifies a question. By default, this intonational contour operates on interrogative sentences; however, other sentence formats – in particular, those of declarative sentences – are possible as well. The distinction of (a) grammatical (syntactic, semantic and phonological) sentence formats for interrogative and declarative sentences, and (b) intonational contours serving the discrimination of speech acts like questions and assertions, can be related to psychological and neurological evidence

Pitch ability as an aptitude for tone learning

Tone languages such as Mandarin use voice pitch to signal lexical contrasts, presenting a challenge for second/foreign language (L2) learners whose native languages do not use pitch in this manner. The present study examined components of an aptitude for mastering L2 lexical tone. Native English speakers with no previous tone language experience completed a Mandarin word learning task, as well as tests of pitch ability, musicality, L2 aptitude, and general cognitive ability. Pitch ability measures improved predictions of learning performance beyond musicality, L2 aptitude, and general cognitive ability and also predicted transfer of learning to new talkers. In sum, although certain nontonal measures help predict successful tone learning, the central components of tonal aptitude are pitch-specific perceptual measures