Presentation: Yu-chiao
Summary: Hsiang-Yu
This study reveals how perceptual assimilation of suprasegmental
features (namely tone) is tied to L1 and L2 contrasts by
examining the perception of Mandarin and Thai speakers. Previous studies have revealed a process of
phonetic assimilation based on acoustic characteristics and a process of
phonological assimilation based on phonemic functions; the latter is related to
L2 experience. In this study, Thai and Mandarin tones were reconfirmed
empirically using acoustic measurements, and applied in a mapping-rating assimilation task by
72 native speakers of either Mandarin or Thai,
whose L2 experiences were also taken into account. Subjects first made
a categorical response identifying
which L1 tone sounded most similar to the L2 tone they heard, and then provided
a 5-point scalar rating considering
the goodness of the match.
Results showed that L1 listeners
without L2 experience tend to assign
tones depending on acoustic properties (i.e., F0 height and
contour), linking Thai tones to Mandarin tones that share similar contour and
vice versa, while listeners with L2 experience were
additionally influenced by phonological tone changes, assimilating Thai
falling-rising tone to Mandarin rising tone and Thai low-falling tone to
Mandarin falling-rising tone (vice versa). These findings support the process
of assimilation found in segmental studies.
