LEXICAL FACTORS AND SEGMENTAL ACCURACY IN SECOND LANGUAGE SPEECH PRODUCTION

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Flege ◽  
Elaina M. Frieda ◽  
Amanda C. Walley ◽  
Lauren A. Randazza
Keyword(s):  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Lexical Status ◽  
Spanish Word ◽  
Second Language Speech Production ◽  
Learning English ◽  
Lexical Factors

Voice onset time (VOT) was measured in the production of /t/ in the initial position of 60 English words spoken by native English (NE) speakers and native Spanish (NS) speakers who began learning English before or after the age of 21 years. The subjects rated the words for familiarity, age of acquisition, imageability, and relatedness to word(s) in the Spanish lexicon. The subjects in all three groups showed two well-known phonetic effects: They produced longer VOT values in the context of high than nonhigh vowels, and longer VOT in one- than in two-syllable words. As expected, the NS subjects who learned English prior to the age of 21 years judged the English words to be more familiar and more like a Spanish word than did the subjects who began learning English later in life. Also, many but not all of the NS subjects produced /t/ with shorter VOT values than did the NE subjects. However, regression analyses showed that none of the lexical factors mentioned above or the text frequency of the 60 English words examined affected the NS subjects' VOT values. Thus, variation in the accuracy with which NS subjects produce English /t/ must be accounted for by factors other than the lexical status of the words in which /t/ occurs.

Acquisition of the Voicing Contrast by Language-Delayed and Normal-Speaking Children

1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. S. Bond ◽  
Howard F. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Final Position ◽  
Stop Consonants ◽  
Minimal Pairs ◽  
Voicing Contrast ◽  
Normal Speaking

Voicing is a phonological contrast which emerges early in the speech of children. However, the acoustic correlates of the voicing contrast for stop consonants are fairly complex. In the initial position, voicing is cued primarily by the relative timing of articulatory versus laryngeal gestures. In the final position, the duration of the preceding vowel is associated with the voicing contrast of stop consonants. The purpose of this study was to examine the pattern of acquisition of the voicing contrast in the speech of ten children diagnosed as language-delayed in comparison with the acquisition of the voicing contrast by normal speaking children. The language-delayed and normal-speaking children were matched according to mean length of utterance (MLU) and placed in one of Brown's five developmental stages. Each participant was first given a short test, using natural speech, to determine his or her ability to identify minimal pairs differing in the voicing of stop consonants. Those who passed the test were recorded under standard recording conditions repeating 12 test words. The test words contrasted voiced and voiceless stop consonants in initial and final positions. Spectrograms of the three best productions of each word were used to examine voice-onset time for stops in initial position and preceding vowel duration for stops in final position. Although the language-delayed and normal-speaking children showed equivalent linguistic sophistication (as measured by MLU), the language-delayed children's control of the acoustic-phonetic details of the voicing contrast was less mature than that of the normal-speaking children.

The Word Unit in Second Language Speech Production and Perception

1994 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Emil Flege ◽  
Murray J. Munro
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Speech Acquisition ◽  
Language Identity ◽  
Phonetic Errors ◽  
Early Learners ◽  
Second Language Speech Production ◽  
Entire Word

The purpose of this study, which focused on the wordtacoas spoken in Spanish and English, was to explore the word as a unit in second language (L2) speech acquisition. As expected, acoustic measurements revealed that Spanish and English monolinguals' renditions oftacodiffered systematically. It was also shown that the extent to which Spanish/English bilinguals approximated English phonetic norms for any one segment oftacowas correlated with their approximation for the other three segments, and that early learners differentiated Spanish versus Englishtacomore than did late learners. It also appeared that the bilinguals produced /t/ with less English-like voice onset time (VOT) values in Englishtacothan in other English words without a cognate in Spanish. In a perception experiment, listeners were able to identify the native language of Spanish and English monolinguals on the basis of their production oftaco. The listeners heard larger differences between Spanish and Englishtacotokens spoken by early than late learners of English L2. Two additional perception experiments assessed further the phonetic dimensions that listeners use to determine language identity and to gauge bilinguals' speech production accuracy. Listeners assigned to language identification and goodness rating tasks responded to acoustic information distributed over all four segments intaco, although the VOT of the word-initial /t/ appeared to be the single most important phonetic dimension. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that (a) bilinguals' accuracy in producing the various segments of a second language word may be interrelated and (b) in judging L2 speech, listeners respond to phonetic errors distributed over the entire word.

The Effects of Fundamental Frequency Level on Voice Onset Time in Normal Adult Male Speakers

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 1013-1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. McCrea ◽  
Richard J. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Stop Consonant ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Normal Adult ◽  
Frequency Level ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Voiceless Stop

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of fundamental frequency (F 0 ) on stop consonant voice onset time (VOT). VOT was measured from the recordings of 56 young men reading phrases containing all 6 English voiced and voiceless stops in word-initial position across high-, medium-, and low-F 0 levels. Separate analyses of variance for the voiced and voiceless stops revealed no significant main effect for F 0 for the voiced stops but a significant F 0 effect for the voiceless stops. Across the voiceless stops, productions at high F 0 s displayed significantly shorter VOTs than productions at low or mid F 0 s. The findings indicated that researchers must take into account the F 0 level at which voiceless stop VOT is measured.

Acoustic Dimensions of Hearing-Impaired Speakers' Intelligibility

1985 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale Evan Metz ◽  
Vincent J. Samar ◽  
Nicholas Schiavetti ◽  
Ronald W. Sitler ◽  
Robert L. Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Principal Components ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Hearing Ability ◽  
Two Factors

Regression and principal components analyses were employed to study the relationship between three measures of speech intelligibility and 12 segmental, prosodic, and hearing ability parameters in 20 severely to profoundly hearing-impaired speakers. Regression analyses on the original 12 parameters revealed that cognate pair voice onset time differences and mean sentence duration strongly predicted speech intelligibility based on readings of isolated word and contextual speech material. A principal components analysis derived four factors that accounted for the majority of the variance in the original 12 parameters. Subsequent regression analyses using the four factors as predictor variables revealed two factors with strong relationships to the speech intelligibility measures. One factor primarily reflected segmental production processes related to the temporal and spatial differentiation of phonemes, whereas the other factor reflected prosodic features and production stability. These results are consistent with prior research that suggests independent primary and secondary roles for segmental and prosodic speech characteristics, respectively, in determining intelligibility in severely to profoundly hearing-impaired speakers.

The acquisition of the voicing contrast in Spanish: a phonetic and phonological study of word-initial stop consonants

1980 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlys A. Macken ◽  
David Barton
Keyword(s):  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Instrumental Analysis ◽  
Stop Consonants ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Mexican Spanish ◽  
Phonological Knowledge ◽  
Voicing Contrast ◽  
Spanish Word ◽  
Voiceless Stop

ABSTRACTThis paper reports on the acquisition of the voicing contrast in Mexican–Spanish word-initial stops. In Study 1, three monolingual children were recorded every two weeks for seven months, beginning when the children were about 1; 7. In Study 2, four monolingual children about 3; 10 were recorded once or twice. Two analyses were done. Instrumental analysis of the stop productions revealed that not even by age 3; 10 were the children consistently distinguishing between voiced–voiceless stop cognate pairs on the basis of adult-like voice-onset time characteristics. The spirantization analysis, however, more clearly revealed the children's phonological knowledge. Discussion focuses on the implications of the data for phonological development in general and for the phonological description of voicing in Spanish.

scholarly journals The production of the English stop voicing contrast by Arab L2 speakers of English

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 434-444
Author(s):  
Mohd Hilmi Hamzah ◽  
Ahmed Elsayed Samir Madbouly ◽  
Hasliza Abdul Halim ◽  
Abdul Halim Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Acoustic Parameter ◽  
Voicing Contrast ◽  
Phonological Contrast ◽  
Fertile Ground ◽  
Voiceless Stop ◽  
Speech Learning

The English voiceless stop /p/ and voiced stop /ɡ/ are absent in the consonant inventory of Arabic. This difference provides a fertile ground for empirical research in L2 speech learning among Arab L2 speakers of English. The current study, therefore, aims to explore the English stop voicing contrast as produced by Arab native speakers. Focusing on Voice Onset Time (VOT) as an acoustic parameter, the study seeks to examine the extent to which (1) Arab L2 speakers of English maintain the English stop voicing contrast for /p-b/ and /k-ɡ/, and (2) the L2 VOT continuum by Arab L2 speakers follows or deviates from the L1 VOT continuum in English. The acoustic phonetic experiment involved elicited materials of /p-b/ and /k-ɡ/ from four male native speakers of Arabic. The tokens were recorded in isolation (utterance-initial position) and in a carrier sentence (utterance-medial position). The data were then acoustically analysed following standard segmentation, annotation and measurement criteria. Results reveal that the Arab L2 speakers can, to a large extent, maintain the English stop voicing contrast across all places of articulation, with voiced stops usually being produced with “normal” negative VOT (prevoicing) and voiceless stops usually being produced with “normal” positive VOT and also accompanied with aspiration in the long-lag region. There are also exceptional cases of “abnormal” negative VOT (prevoicing) for voiceless stops and “abnormal” positive VOT (devoicing) for voiced stops, with an extremely larger number of devoiced tokens for voiced stops in comparison to prevoiced tokens for voiceless stops. The results accord well with the Speech Learning Model’s prediction that phonetically “new” sounds are relatively easier to learn than phonetically “similar” sounds. The conclusion is drawn that languages sharing the same sound contrast may exhibit different phonetic implementations in marking a phonological contrast.

scholarly journals Spit or sbit? ST-type consonant clusters in the speech of Polish learners of English

2021 ◽  
Vol Volume 138 (4) ◽  
pp. 187-199
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Consonant Clusters ◽  
Stop Consonants ◽  
Sibilant Fricatives ◽  
Speech Research ◽  
L1 English

This paper presents two small-scale acoustic phonetic studies investigating the pronunciation of sibilant-stop (ST) consonant clusters in Polish, and in the L2 speech of L1 Polish learners of English. In English, aspiration of fortis stops is not attested in the post-/s/ context. Rather, short-lag voice onset time (VOT) measures are observed in L1 English in post-/s/ stop consonants, a phonetic weakening that renders them phonetically similar in terms of VOT to lenis stops in initial position. In Polish, both voiced and voiceless stops may appear after sibilant fricatives. The acoustic results suggest that (1) L1 Polish does not weaken its stops in ST clusters, and (2) that more L1 Polish speakers exhibit some weakening in their L2 English clusters as a function of proficiency, but do not produce native-like VOTs in ST sequences. Implications of these findings for L2 speech research and the phonological status of ST clusters are discussed.

Voicing Contrasts and Their Phonological Implications in the Speech of Articulation-Disordered Children

1983 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann B. Smit ◽  
John E. Bernthal
Keyword(s):  
Normal Child ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Production Data ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Minimal Pairs ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Phonological Form ◽  
Normal Controls

Five-year-old articulation-disordered children, some classified as substituters and some as syllable reducers, were compared with normal child and adult controls in their production of voicing contrasts. These contrasts occurred in minimal pairs containing word-final obstruents and in minimal triples containing word-initial stops and /s/-plus-stop clusters in initial position. Measures of vowel duration, voice onset time (VOT), and frequency of use of phonetic voicing were made from spectrograms. In every comparison the substituters' performance resembled that of the normal controls, as did the syllable reducers' use of VOT in stop singles. The syllable reducers used larger vowel duration ratios than the normal controls in a few minimal pairs and used phonetic voicing less often in word-initial /b d g/. The production data and previously reported perception data were examined for evidence that individual syllable reducers had voicing contrasts in underlying phonological form despite their deletions of obstruents in which these contrasts occurred. Most of the syllable reducers appeared to recognize underlying voicing contrasts in at least a few final obstruents and in some of the initial stop singles.

Voice onset time in Persian initial and intervocalic stop production

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmood Bijankhan ◽  
Mandana Nourbakhsh
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Vowel Context ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Voiceless Stop ◽  
High Vowels

The purpose of this study is to examine voice onset time as a phonetic correlate of voicing distinction in standard Persian. Issues pertinent to VOT are also addressed: namely, the effect of place of articulation, vowel context and sex of speakers. The VOTs were measured from recordings of five male and five female speakers reading 65 words that contained a full set of Persian oral stops in word initial and intervocalic positions. This acoustic experiment indicated that VOT distinguishes voiced from voiceless stops. The results also revealed that Persian uses mainly {voiceless unaspirated} and {voiceless aspirated} categories for [±voice] distinction in initial position and {voiced} and {voiceless aspirated} categories in intervocalic position. Vowel context also affected VOT values but the only significant difference was due to high vowels, which caused the preceding voiceless stop to have a longer VOT. Examining sex differences in the VOT values indicated that for voiced items females produced longer VOTs than males. However, voiceless items displayed no significant sex differences for VOT values. Fundamental frequency (F0) of the onset of the following vowel was also examined as another cue to voice distinction. Although the F0 values of voiceless tokens were higher than those of the voiced ones in each voiced–voiceless category, the results suggest that F0 is not a major cue distinguishing the two stop categories.

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