Auditory and Acoustic Evidence for Palatalization of the Nasal Consonant in Cairene Arabic

This paper introduces the palatalized nasal [nʲ] as an allophonic realization of coronal /n/ in Cairene Arabic. The palatalized variants of the phonemes previously described in acoustic and sociolinguistic terms include the alveolar stops [t, d] and their pharyngealized counterparts [tˤ, dˤ], which can be palatalized preceding the high, front vowel [i:]. While previous studies have anecdotally noted that the coronal nasal /n/ can undergo palatalization in the same environment, this variant has not been systematically investigated. Focusing on syllable-final /-ni:/ segments, I first use auditory measures to show that the palatalized variant occurs with some regularity (~50%) in the read speech of seven speakers of Cairene Arabic. Then, I provide acoustic evidence that this perceived difference significantly correlates with the difference in F2 values taken from the onset and midpoint of the vowel following the nasal consonant. There is also evidence of a lexical effect, such that borrowings exhibit less palatalization than non-borrowings. This study contributes data for the unexamined Cairene nasal and supports the likelihood of palatalization of coronals at the typological level.

Intraspeaker Priming across the New Zealand English Short Front Vowel Shift

A growing body of research in psycholinguistics, corpus linguistics, and sociolinguistics shows that we have a strong tendency to repeat linguistic material that we have recently produced, seen, or heard. The present paper investigates whether priming effects manifest in continuous phonetic variation the way it has been reported in phonological, morphological, and syntactic variation. We analyzed nearly 60,000 tokens of vowels involved in the New Zealand English short front vowel shift (SFVS), a change in progress in which trap/dress move in the opposite direction to kit, from a topic-controlled corpus of monologues (166 speakers), to test for effects that are characteristic of priming phenomena: repetition, decay, and lexical boost. Our analysis found evidence for all three effects. Tokens that were relatively high and front tended to be followed by tokens that were also high and front; the repetition effect weakened with greater time between the prime and target; and the repetition effect was stronger if the prime and target belonged to (different tokens of) the same word. Contrary to our expectations, however, the cross-vowel effects suggest that the repetition effect responded not to the direction of vowel changes within the SFVS, but rather the peripherality of the tokens. We also found an interaction between priming behavior and gender, with stronger repetition effects among men than women. While these findings both indicate that priming manifests in continuous phonetic variation and provide further evidence that priming is among the factors providing structure to intraspeaker variation, they also challenge unitary accounts of priming phenomena.

Structure, Chronology, and Local Social Meaning of a Supra-Local Vowel Shift: Emergence of the Low-Back-Merger Shift in New England

The Low-Back-Merger Shift (LBMS) is a major North American vowel chain shift spreading across many disparate dialect regions. In this field-based study, we examine the speech of fifty-nine White Western Massachusetts speakers, aged 18–89. Using diagnostics in Becker (2019) and Boberg (2019b), we find the LBMS emerging at the expense of the Northern Cities Shift (Labov, Yaeger, & Steiner, 1972) and traditional New England features (Boberg, 2001; Kurath, 1939; Nagy & Roberts, 2004). In Becker's LBMS model (2019:9), the low-back merger (lot-thought) triggers front-vowel shifts. Our results suggest that local social meaning can sometimes override this chronology such that the front-vowel shifts occur before the low-back merger, even as the overall configuration comes to match Becker's predictions. Sociosymbolic meaning associated with the older New England system has led to a different temporal ordering of LBMS components, thus providing new theoretical and empirical insights into the mechanisms by which supralocal patterns are adopted.

Acoustic Characteristics of Pre- and Post-vocalic /l/: Patterns from One Southern White Vernacular English

This study examined acoustic characteristics of the phoneme /l/ produced by young female and male adult speakers of Southern White Vernacular English (SWVE) from Louisiana. F1, F2, and F2-F1 values extracted at the /l/ midpoint were analyzed by word position (pre- vs. post-vocalic) and vowel contexts (/i, ɪ/ vs. /ɔ, a/). Descriptive analysis showed that SWVE /l/ exhibited characteristics of the dark /l/ variant. The formant patterns of /l/, however, differed significantly by word position and vowel context, with pre-vocalic /l/ showing significantly higher F2-F1 values than post-vocalic /l/, and /l/ in the high front vowel context showing significantly higher F2-F1 values than those in the low back vowel context. Individual variation in the effects of word position and vowel contexts on /l/ pattern was also observed. Overall, the findings of the current study showed a gradient nature of SWVE /l/ variants whose F2-F1 patterns generally fell into the range of the dark /l/ variant, while varying by word position and vowel context.

Perception of Portuguese Mid Vowels by Heritage Speakers of Brazilian Portuguese

The main goal of this study is to investigate the perception of Portuguese mid-vowel contrasts (/ɛ/-/e/ and /ɔ/-/o/) by heritage speakers (HS s) of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) who grew up in the United States. This study shows, for instance, an asymmetry in categorization as a function of degree of language dominance for mid-back vowel contrast, but not for mid-front vowel contrast.

SISTEM FONOLOGI BAHASA LIMOLA/PHONOLOGY SYSTEM IN LIMOLA LANGUAGE

AbstrakPenelitian ini bertujuan mengonservasi sistem fonologi bahasa Limola. Data dikumpulkan melalui instrumen berisikan 200 kosakata swadesh dan 200 kosakata budaya. Kosakata tersebut berbahasa Indonesia dan diterjemahkan dalam bahasa Limola berdasarkan kebutuhan data. Analisis data dilakukan dengan mentranskripsikan data dalam bentuk fonetis. Setelah data ditranskripsikan, dilakukan pembuktian klasifikasi dan distribusi fonem. Selanjutnya menelaah penyukuan dan perubahan bunyi dalam bahasa Limola. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa bahasa Limola memiliki lima buah fonem vokal dasar dan tiga belas vokal variasi, sehingga secara keseluruhan terdapat delapan belas vokal yang berfungsi sebagai pembeda makna. Lima vokal dasar bahasa Limola adalah /i/, /e/, /a/, /u/, /o/ dan tiga belas vokal variasi atau alofon dari lima vokal dasar, yaitu adalah /i/ = [i:], [ii], [I]; /e/= [e:], [ɛ], {ɛ:]; /a/= [a:], [aa]; /o/= [o:], [oo], [ɔ]; dan /u/=[u:], [uu]. Uniknya, bahasa Limola selain memiliki diftong, seperti [ia], [ea], [ai], [oɛ], [ua] dan lainnya, juga memiliki diftong yang disebut sebagai diftong kembar atau identik yang terdapat pada bunyi vokal tertentu, yakni bunyi /ii/, /aa/, /oo/, dan /uu/. Keempat bunyi tersebut merupakan bunyi vokal depan /aa/ dan /ii/ dan vokal belakang /oo/ dan /uu/. Selanjutnya, fonem konsonan bahasa Limola terdiri atas tujuh belas konsonan dan ada enam fonem yang tidak ditemukan di dalam bahasa Limola, yaitu, /f/, /h/, /x/, /z/, /q/, dan /v/. Penyukuan bahasa Limola adalah V, VK, KV, KVK, KVV. Selanjutnya, perubahan bunyi bahasa Limola berdasarkan pada proses fonologis melalui asimilasi, diftongisasi, monoftongisasi, anaptiksis, protesis, epentesisi, paragoge, dan zeroisasi. Kata kunci: konservasi, fonologi, bahasa Limola AbstractThe research aims to conserve the phonology system of the Limola language. The data collected using an instrument containing 200 words of Swadesh and 200 words of culture. The words in the Indonesian language were translated into the Limola language based on the data needs. Data analysis was conducted by transcribing data in phonetic form. After the data transcribed, it was proving the classification and distribution of phonemes. Next, the researchers examined the syllable and sound changes that occurred in the Limola language. The results show that the Limola language has five basic vowel phonemes and thirteen vowels of variation, thus in total, eighteen Limola vowels function as distinctive meaning. The five basic vowels are /i/, /e/, /a/, /u/, /o/ and the thirteen vowels are /i/ = [i:], [ii], [I]; /e/= [e:], [ɛ], {ɛ:]; /a/= [a:], [aa]; /o/= [o:], [oo], [ɔ]; and /u/=[u:], [uu]. Apart from diphthongs such as [ia], [ea], [ai], [o], [ua], and others, the Limola language also has diphthongs known as twin or identical diphthongs, which are found in some vowels, i.e., [ii], [aa], [oo], and [uu]. The four sounds are the front vowel, namely [aa] and [ii], and the back vowel, namely [oo] and [uu]. Furthermore, the Limola consonant phoneme consists of seventeen consonants and there are six phonemes that are not found in the Limola language, namely, /f/, /h/, /x/, /z/, /q/, and /v/. The syllables of the Limola language are V, VK, KV, KVK, KVV. Then, the phonological process of assimilation, diphthongization, monophthongization, anaptyxis, prosthesis, epenthesis, paragoge, and zeroization is being used to demonstrate the sound changes throughout the Limola language. Keywords: conservation, phonology, the Limola language

English Phonemic Awareness of Students with Visual Disabilities

Most of researches have reported the significance of English phonemic awareness to the success of learning English, but less discussions involving students with visual disabilities. Students with visual disabilities lacks of visual input and form a strong sensitivity to audio input, researches have reported that this condition affect their spelling ability, yet, their ability in recognizing English phonemes has been less explored especially in Indonesia. Thus, this research aims to describe the phonemic awareness of students with visual disabilities who learn English as Foreign Language. The participants of this research are students with visual disabilities whether active or passive braille user. 7 students with visual disabilities participated in an Online English Phonemic Awareness Test. Two independent raters rated the data independently. Interrater agreement was applied to ensure the objectivity of two independent interrater. The findings show that students with visual disabilities are aware of consonants Fricative alveolar, Plosive bilabial, and Plosive alveolar sounds but struggling with Fricative velar and Affricative velar sound, they are also aware of vowels Close mid front vowel, Close front long vowel sounds, Close mid back vowel and Open central vowel but struggling in identifying Open back vowel, Close mid central vowel, and Open mid back vowel. English phonemic awareness is a very important basic thing in language learning. However, it will be very challenging for ESL learners, especially those who learn are blind students because of certain obstacles that blind students have so that strategies are needed in language learning.

Cross-dialectal vowel mapping and glide perception

Formant transitions from a high front vowel to a non-high, non-front vowel mimic the formant signature of a canonical [j], resulting in the perception of an acoustic glide (Hogoboom 2020). We ask if listeners may still perceive a glide when canonical formant transitions are absent. We investigated the mapping of an Appalachian English (AE) monophthongal [aɪ] in hiatus sequences, monophthongal [aɪ.a]. If participants map this monophthongal [aɪ] to a high front position, they might perceive a glide that is not supported by the acoustic signal, which we call a phantom glide. Ninety-six participants (45 of which were native AE speakers) heard 30 different English words ending in [i], [ə], or monophthongal [aɪ] (i.e. tree, coma, pie) that had been suffixed with either [-a] or [-ja]. They were asked to identify which suffixed form they heard. Participants in both dialect groups sometimes perceived a glide that was truly absent from the speech stream. In these cases, participants mapped static formants in monophthongal [aɪ.a] stimuli to a diphthongal /aɪ/ with a high front endpoint, causing the perception of the necessary F1 fall and subsequent rise of a [j]. Using recent models of speech processing, which encode both social and acoustic representations of speech (e.g. Sumner et al. 2014), we discuss the mapping of monophthongal [aɪ] to a privileged diphthongal underlying form.

Bidirectionality of language contact: Spanish and Catalan vowels

The disproportionate number of studies in Barcelona and the Balearic Islands observing Spanish contact effects in Catalan production, rather than Catalan contact effects in Spanish production, is an oversight of bidirectionality and the probabilistic nature of social factors in situations of language contact. Accordingly, the present study analyzes both Catalan and Spanish mid front vowel production data from Barcelona to investigate whether Catalan contact effects occur in Spanish via a process of dissimilation, and whether such effects are strengthened in younger speakers due to the relatively recent implementation of Catalan linguistic policy in the educational and public spheres. The results are suggestive of dissimilation, where phonetic distinctions are maintained between Spanish /e/ and the two Catalan mid front vowels across both F1 and F2. Additionally, analyses of variance across F1 and F2 reveal that Spanish /e/ productions across F1 are more diffuse in younger speakers and Catalan mid front vowels across F2 are less diffuse, providing evidence of reciprocity in contact effects. These results underscore the bidirectional nature of language contact and advocate for the use of variance of F1 and F2 as a metric of phonological contact effects.