scholarly journals I Scream for Ice Cream: Resolving Lexical Ambiguity with Sub-phonemic Information

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 526-549
Author(s):  
Yoonjeong Lee ◽  
Elsi Kaiser ◽  
Louis Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
American English ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Lexical Ambiguity ◽  
Language Recognition ◽  
Movement Trajectories ◽  
Phonetic Information ◽  
Lexical Ambiguity Resolution ◽  
Mouse Movement

This study uses a response mouse-tracking paradigm to examine the role of sub-phonemic information in online lexical ambiguity resolution of continuous speech. We examine listeners’ sensitivity to the sub-phonemic information that is specific to the ambiguous internal open juncture /s/-stop sequences in American English (e.g., “ place kin” vs. “ play skin”), that is, voice onset time (VOT) indicating different degrees of aspiration (e.g., long VOT for “ k in” vs. short VOT for “ s k in”) in connected speech contexts. A cross-splicing method was used to create two-word sequences (e.g., “ place kin” or “ play skin”) with matching VOTs (long for “ k in”; short for “ s k in”) or mismatching VOTs ( short for “ k in”; long for “ s k in”). Participants ( n = 20) heard the two-word sequences, while looking at computer displays with the second word in the left/right corner (“ KIN” and “ SKIN”). Then, listeners’ click responses and mouse movement trajectories were recorded. Click responses show significant effects of VOT manipulation, while mouse trajectories do not. Our results show that stop-release information, whether temporal or spectral, can (mis)guide listeners’ interpretation of the possible location of a word boundary between /s/ and a following stop, even when other aspects in the acoustic signal (e.g., duration of /s/) point to the alternative segmentation. Taken together, our results suggest that segmentation and lexical access are highly attuned to bottom-up phonetic information; our results have implications for a model of spoken language recognition with position-specific representations available at the prelexical level and also allude to the possibility that detailed phonetic information may be stored in the listeners’ lexicons.

scholarly journals Voice Onset Time in Individuals With Hyperfunctional Voice Disorders: Evidence for Disordered Vocal Motor Control

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria S. McKenna ◽  
Jennifer A. Hylkema ◽  
Monique C. Tardif ◽  
Cara E. Stepp
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Coefficient Of Variation ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
American English ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Adult Women ◽  
Vocal Hyperfunction ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Age And Sex

Purpose This study examined vocal hyperfunction (VH) using voice onset time (VOT). We hypothesized that speakers with VH would produce shorter VOTs, indicating increased laryngeal tension, and more variable VOTs, indicating disordered vocal motor control. Method We enrolled 32 adult women with VH (aged 20–74 years) and 32 age- and sex-matched controls. All were speakers of American English. Participants produced vowel–consonant–vowel combinations that varied by vowel (ɑ/u) and plosive (p/b, t/d, k/g). VOT—measured at the release of the plosive to the initiation of voicing—was averaged over three repetitions of each vowel–consonant–vowel combination. The coefficient of variation (CoV), a measure of VOT variability, was also computed for each combination. Results The mean VOTs were not significantly different between the two groups; however, the CoVs were significantly greater in speakers with VH compared to controls. Voiceless CoV values were moderately correlated with clinical ratings of dysphonia ( r = .58) in speakers with VH. Conclusion Speakers with VH exhibited greater variability in phonemic voicing targets compared to vocally healthy speakers, supporting the hypothesis for disordered vocal motor control in VH. We suggest future work incorporate VOT measures when assessing auditory discrimination and auditory–motor integration deficits in VH.

Voice-onset Time and Tone-onset Time: The Role of Criterion-setting Mechanisms in Categorical Perception

1995 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Treisman ◽  
Andrew Faulkner ◽  
Peter L. N. Naish ◽  
Burton S. Rosner
Keyword(s):  
Signal Detection Theory ◽  
Categorical Perception ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Tone Onset ◽  
Sequential Dependencies ◽  
Setting Theory ◽  
Criterion Setting

Problems in modelling categorical perception (CP) and attempts to apply signal detection theory (SDT) to CP are reviewed. An approach based on SDT supplemented by a theory of criterion setting is presented. Criterion setting theory (CST) postulates mechanisms that reset the response criterion on each trial, and it accounts for sequential dependencies. A criterion setting model for discrimination is shown to fit data from the literature. The hypothesis that “sharp” category boundaries may arise from the suppression of noise caused by intertrial dependencies was examined in an experiment on the identification of [ba] and [pa] syllables, and tone combinations of varying tone-onset time. However, it was shown that both positive and negative intertrial dependencies were present. They could be fitted by the criterion-setting model; in this respect, CP resembles standard psychophysical judgements. Examination of the psychometric functions from the two CP tasks shows that they are not normal ogives, as in standard psychophysical tasks: these curves are steeper centrally and flatter at the extremes than a Gaussian ogive; we describe them as “hypersigmoid”. The description of CP identification functions as hypersigmoid provides a new, qualitative characterization of the “sharp” category boundaries traditionally claimed for CP. Their causation remains to be determined.

Constructing two phonological systems: A phonetic analysis of /p/, /t/, /k/ among early Spanish–English bilingual speakers

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-68
Author(s):  
Earl K. Brown ◽  
Mary T. Copple
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Center Of Gravity ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
The Usa

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: Many early Spanish-English bilingual speakers in the USA learn Spanish as their first language at home and English in school. This paper seeks to elucidate whether these speakers develop a separate phonological system for English and, if so, the role of primary and secondary cues in the development of the second language (L2) system. Design/methodology/approach: The phonetic realization of the voiceless stops /p/, /t/, /k/ is analyzed among three groups: early Spanish-English bilinguals; L1 English speakers who are late learners of Spanish; and L1 Spanish speakers who are late learners of English. The participants ( N = 15) engaged in a reading task and a conversation task in each language during a single recording session. Data and analysis: 1578 tokens of /p/, /t/, /k/ were extracted and analyzed using acoustic software. Voice onset time in milliseconds and center of gravity in Hertz were analyzed, and monofactorial and multifactorial analyses were performed to determine the role of linguistic background. Findings/conclusions: Evidence is found of two phonological systems among early bilingual speakers, with varying degrees of assimilation to the phonological systems of the native speakers of each language. Originality: We argue that early bilinguals construct their L2 system of /p/, /t/, /k/ in English based on the primary cue of voice onset time rather than the secondary cue of center of gravity, as they are accustomed to noticing differences in voice onset time in Spanish and because the center of gravity of /p/, /t/, /k/ in English is more variable than voice onset time, and therefore represents a more variable and less predictable cue for early bilinguals as they construct their L2 system. Significance/implications: This paper contributes to the literature on the construction of phonological systems and to research detailing the speech of early Spanish-English bilinguals.

scholarly journals The role of code-switching and language context in bilingual phonetic transfer

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Olson
Keyword(s):  
Dual Language ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Additive Effect ◽  
Switching Effect ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
Language Activation ◽  
Language Context

The present study examines the effect of two potential catalysts for interlanguage phonetic interaction, code-switching and language mode, on the production of voice onset time (VOT) to better understand the role of (near) simultaneous dual language activation on phonetic production, as well as the nature of phonetic transfer. An oral production paradigm was carried out in which Spanish–English bilinguals produced words with initial voiceless stops as non-switched tokens, code-switched tokens in an otherwise monolingual context, and code-switched tokens in a bilingual context. Results demonstrated a degree of phonetic transfer associated with code-switching, either unidirectional or bi-directional. Specifically, English, with long lag VOT, was more susceptible to phonetic transfer than Spanish (short lag). Contrary to expectations, while the code-switching effect was present in both monolingual and bilingual mode, there was no additional transfer, or additive effect, of bilingual language mode. Differences in the effects of code-switching on English and Spanish are discussed with respect to the inherently different acceptable VOT ranges in the two languages. Furthermore, the lack of difference in VOT between the code-switched tokens in the monolingual and bilingual contexts is taken to suggest limits on phonetic transfer.

scholarly journals A Contrastive Study of the Voice Onset Time (VOT) in English and Arabic Languages

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (118) ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
Rafida  Mansoor Mahmood
Keyword(s):  
Auditory System ◽  
Categorical Perception ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Stop Consonants ◽  
Contrastive Study ◽  
Human Auditory System ◽  
Arabic And English ◽  
The Voice

  The signal sound contains many different features. One of these features is voice onset time henceforth )VOT) and this feature refers to the ways different people of different languages have been distinguished by the way they articulate stop consonants of their own language. This feature (VOT) can be utilized by the human auditory system to distinguish between voiced and devoiced stops such as /p/ and /b /in English, /t/ and /t?/ Arabic. The study is contributed into five sections:- Section One is introductory, which contains the introduction, the problem, the hypothesis, the aim, the limitation and the value of the study. Section Two shows the definitions and types of VOT: positive, negative, zero VOT and role of VOT. Section Three deals with the measurement and categorical perception of VOT, these ways of measurements are spectrograms, waveform and lagtime. Section Four investigates the VOT of two languages, Arabic and English in details with a comparison between these two languages. It ends with a number of conclusions. One of these conclusions is that Arabic VOT is different from English VOT and this approved the hypothesis.

Effects of Sound Change on the Weighting of Acoustic Cues to the Three-Way Laryngeal Stop Contrast in Korean: Diachronic and Dialectal Comparisons

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunjung Lee ◽  
Allard Jongman
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Sound Change ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Dialectal Variation ◽  
Cue Weighting ◽  
Age Variation ◽  
Korean Stops

Both segmental and suprasegmental properties of the South Kyungsang dialect of Korean have changed under the influence of standard Seoul Korean. This study examines how such sound change affects acoustic cues to the three-way laryngeal contrast among Korean stops across Kyungsang generations through a comparison with Seoul Korean. Thirty-nine female Korean speakers differing in dialect (Kyungsang, Seoul) and age (older, younger) produced words varying in initial stops and lexical accent patterns, for which voice onset time and fundamental frequency (F0) at vowel onset were measured. This study first confirms previous findings regarding age and dialectal variation in distinguishing the three Korean stops. In addition, we report age variation in the use of voice onset time and F0 for the stops in Kyungsang Korean, with younger speakers using F0 more than older speakers as a cue to the stop distinction. This age variation is accounted for by the reduced lexical tonal properties of Kyungsang Korean and the increased influence of Seoul Korean. A comparison of the specific cue weighting across speaker groups also reveals that younger Kyungsang speakers pattern with Seoul speakers who arguably follow the enhancing F0 role of the innovative younger Seoul speakers. The shared cue weighting pattern across generations and dialects suggests that each speaker group changes the acoustic cue weighting in a similar direction.

scholarly journals Voice onset time and global foreign accent in German–French simultaneous bilinguals during adulthood

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 732-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatjana Lein ◽  
Tanja Kupisch ◽  
Joost van de Weijer
Keyword(s):  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Childhood Environment ◽  
Voiceless Stop ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Crosslinguistic Influence ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Voice

Aims and objectives: In this study, we investigated crosslinguistic influence in the phonetic systems of simultaneous bilinguals (2L1s) during adulthood. Methodology: Specifically, we analyzed the voice onset time (VOT) of the voiceless stop /k/ in the spontaneous speech of 14 German–French bilinguals who grew up in France or Germany. We looked at both languages, first comparing the groups, second comparing their VOT to their global accent. Data and analysis: The material consisted of interviews, lasting for about half an hour. Findings/conclusions: Most 2L1s showed distinct VOT-ranges in their two languages, even if they were perceived to have a foreign accent in the minority language of their childhood environment. We conclude that the phonetic systems of 2L1s remain separate and stable throughout the lifespan. However, the 2L1s from France had significantly shorter VOTs in German than the 2L1s from Germany, and their speech was overall more accented. These findings are discussed with respect to the role of intra- and extra-linguistic factors. Originality: Our study adds a new perspective to existing VOT studies of bilinguals by using naturalistic speech data and by comparing two groups of 2L1s who have the same language combination but grew up in different countries, which allows us to evaluate the impact of their childhood environment on VOT development. Significance/implications: Language exposure during childhood seems to be beneficial for pronunciation during adulthood.

The acquisition of the voicing contrast in English: a study of voice onset time in word-initial stop consonants

1980 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlys A. Macken ◽  
David Barton
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Developmental Process ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
American English ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
English Word ◽  
Stop Consonants ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Voicing Contrast ◽  
Competing Models

ABSTRACTThis paper reports on a longitudinal study of the acquisition of the voicing contrast in American English word-initial stop consonants, as measured by voice onset time. Four monolingual children were recorded at two-week intervals, beginning when the children were about 1; 6. Data provide evidence for three general stages: (1) the child has no contrast; (2) the child has a contrast but one that falls within the adult perceptual boundaries of one (usually voiced) phoneme and thus is presumably not perceptible to adults; and (3) the child has a contrast that resembles the adult contrast. The rate and nature of the developmental process are discussed in relation to two competing models for phonological acquisition and two hypotheses regarding the skills being learned.

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