Perception of non-native quantity contrasts by Cantonese and Japanese speakers

Abstract. The causal role of a unidirectional orthography in shaping speakers’ mental representations of time seems to be well established by many psychological experiments. However, the question of whether bidirectional writing systems in some languages can also produce such an impact on temporal cognition remains unresolved. To address this issue, the present study focused on Japanese and Taiwanese, both of which have a similar mix of texts written horizontally from left to right (HLR) and vertically from top to bottom (VTB). Two experiments were performed which recruited Japanese and Taiwanese speakers as participants. Experiment 1 used an explicit temporal arrangement design, and Experiment 2 measured implicit space-time associations in participants along the horizontal (left/right) and the vertical (up/down) axis. Converging evidence gathered from the two experiments demonstrate that neither Japanese speakers nor Taiwanese speakers aligned their vertical representations of time with the VTB writing orientation. Along the horizontal axis, only Japanese speakers encoded elapsing time into a left-to-right linear layout, which was commensurate with the HLR writing direction. Therefore, two distinct writing orientations of a language could not bring about two coexisting mental time lines. Possible theoretical implications underlying the findings are discussed.

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The developmental path of multisensory perception of emotion and phoneme in Japanese speakers

10.21437/avsp.2017-20 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Hisako W. Yamamoto ◽

Misako Kawahara ◽

Akihiro Tanaka

Keyword(s):

Multisensory Perception ◽

Japanese Speakers

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Korean Learners’ Perception of Emotions in Japanese Utterance in Comparison with Native Japanese Speakers’

The Korean Journal of Japanese Education ◽

10.21808/kjje.35.03 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 43-57

Author(s):

Koshiro Akiko

Keyword(s):

Native Japanese Speakers ◽

Japanese Speakers ◽

Perception Of Emotions ◽

Korean Learners

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Do Sibilants Fly? Evidence from a Sound Symbolic Pattern in Pokémon Names

Open Linguistics ◽

10.1515/opli-2020-0027 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 386-400 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shigeto Kawahara ◽

Mahayana C. Godoy ◽

Gakuji Kumagai

Keyword(s):

Sound Symbolism ◽

Research Paradigm ◽

Current Experiment ◽

Normal Type ◽

Natural Languages ◽

Japanese Speakers ◽

Symbolic Value

AbstractAncient writers, including Socrates and the Upanishads, argued that sibilants are associated with the notions of wind, air and sky. From modern perspectives, these statements can be understood as an assertion about sound symbolism, i.e., systematic connections between sounds and meanings. Inspired by these writers, this article reports on an experiment that tests a sound symbolic value of sibilants. The experiment is a case study situated within the Pokémonastics research paradigm, in which the researchers explore the sound symbolic patterns in natural languages using Pokémon names. The current experiment shows that when presented with pairs of a flying-type Pokémon character and a normal-type Pokémon character, Japanese speakers are more likely to associate the flying-type Pokémons with names that contain sibilants than those names that do not contain sibilants. As was pointed out by Socrates, the sound symbolic connection identified in the experiment is likely to be grounded in the articulatory properties of sibilants – the large amount of oral airflow that accompanies the production of sibilants. Various implications of the current experiment for the sound symbolism research are discussed throughout the article.

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A wug-shaped curve in sound symbolism: the case of Japanese Pokémon names

Phonology ◽

10.1017/s0952675720000202 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (3) ◽

pp. 383-418

Author(s):

Shigeto Kawahara

Keyword(s):

Optimality Theory ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Sound Symbolism ◽

Japanese Speakers ◽

Linguistic Patterns ◽

Two Factors ◽

Evolution Status ◽

Stochastic Optimality

An experiment showed that Japanese speakers’ judgement of Pokémons’ evolution status on the basis of nonce names is affected both by mora count and by the presence of a voiced obstruent. The effects of mora count are a case of counting cumulativity, and the interaction between the two factors a case of ganging-up cumulativity. Together, the patterns result in what Hayes (2020) calls ‘wug-shaped curves’, a quantitative signature predicted by MaxEnt. I show in this paper that the experimental results can indeed be successfully modelled with MaxEnt, and also that Stochastic Optimality Theory faces an interesting set of challenges. The study was inspired by a proposal made within formal phonology, and reveals important previously understudied aspects of sound symbolism. In addition, it demonstrates how cumulativity is manifested in linguistic patterns. The work here shows that formal phonology and research on sound symbolism can be mutually beneficial.

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Compliment Strategies Employed by Japanese and Malaysian Tour Guides during Tour Sessions

The GLOCAL in Asia 2020 ◽

10.47298/cala2020.8-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Roswati Abdul Rashid ◽

◽

Roslina Mamat ◽

Rokiah Paee ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Comparative Study ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Japanese Language ◽

Tourist Attractions ◽

Tour Guides ◽

Japanese Speakers ◽

Study Results ◽

Language Communication ◽

Research Goal ◽

Tourist Guides

This research is a comparative study of Japanese language communication between the Japanese and Malay tourist guides during tourism tour sessions. The research goal is to examine patterns of compliment strategies implemented throughout the interactions of the tour sessions. The study results acquired are in the form of four recordings of a dialogue between the tourist guides and the tourists, in audio and video modes. The conversations are transcribed and coded. The tour guides included two Japanese native speakers and two Malaysian-Japanese speakers. In contrast, the tourists are Japanese native speakers who visited Malaysia, and Malaysians who attended the tourist attractions in Japan. The study reveals that the frequency of compliments applied by both Japanese and Malaysian tour guides are alike, or in other words, there are no significant differences. Nevertheless, category, function and topic or theme of compliment utterance present ssubstantial distinction.

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