Abstract
While the influence of L1 on the perception of segments is well established, the effect of L1 on the perception of suprasegmentals such as intonational contours is less known. Previous studies claim that suprasegmental processing is less sensitive to L1 experience because it is based mostly on general auditory mechanisms. Thus, falls and rises can be universally distinguished regardless of language background while different types of rises are processed similarly between language groups. However, often these studies have not included languages that actually use different types of rises linguistically. In this study we investigated the effects of L1 experience on the perception of rises by Australian-English listeners, for whom different rises signal the difference between interrogatives and declaratives in their L1, and Mandarin learners of English, who should be sensitive to tonal differences but not to the intonational differences tested here. Results demonstrate that the perception of suprasegmentals is indeed shaped by the L1 with a significantly better discrimination of rises by Australian-English listeners. Additionally, it appears that suprasegmental processing at the utterance level occurs independently from the lexical level since Mandarin listeners were not able to draw on tonal sensitivities for discrimination at the utterance (intonational) level.
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the International Conference on Speech Prosody |
| Place of Publication | Baixas |
| Publisher | International Speech Communication Association (ISCA) |
| Pages | 242-246 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| Event | 8th Speech Prosody - Boston University, Boston, United States Duration: 31 May 2016 → 3 Jun 2016 http://sites.bu.edu/speechprosody2016/ |
Conference
| Conference | 8th Speech Prosody |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | SP2016 |
| Country | United States |
| City | Boston |
| Period | 31/05/16 → 3/06/16 |
| Internet address |
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L1 experience shapes the perception of intonational contours. / Schmidt, Elaine; Kung, Carmen; Post, Brechtje; Yuen, Ivan; Demuth, Katherine.
Proceedings of the International Conference on Speech Prosody. Baixas : International Speech Communication Association (ISCA), 2016. p. 242-246.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceeding contribution › Research › peer-review
TY - GEN
T1 - L1 experience shapes the perception of intonational contours
AU - Schmidt,Elaine
AU - Kung,Carmen
AU - Post,Brechtje
AU - Yuen,Ivan
AU - Demuth,Katherine
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - While the influence of L1 on the perception of segments is well established, the effect of L1 on the perception of suprasegmentals such as intonational contours is less known. Previous studies claim that suprasegmental processing is less sensitive to L1 experience because it is based mostly on general auditory mechanisms. Thus, falls and rises can be universally distinguished regardless of language background while different types of rises are processed similarly between language groups. However, often these studies have not included languages that actually use different types of rises linguistically. In this study we investigated the effects of L1 experience on the perception of rises by Australian-English listeners, for whom different rises signal the difference between interrogatives and declaratives in their L1, and Mandarin learners of English, who should be sensitive to tonal differences but not to the intonational differences tested here. Results demonstrate that the perception of suprasegmentals is indeed shaped by the L1 with a significantly better discrimination of rises by Australian-English listeners. Additionally, it appears that suprasegmental processing at the utterance level occurs independently from the lexical level since Mandarin listeners were not able to draw on tonal sensitivities for discrimination at the utterance (intonational) level.
AB - While the influence of L1 on the perception of segments is well established, the effect of L1 on the perception of suprasegmentals such as intonational contours is less known. Previous studies claim that suprasegmental processing is less sensitive to L1 experience because it is based mostly on general auditory mechanisms. Thus, falls and rises can be universally distinguished regardless of language background while different types of rises are processed similarly between language groups. However, often these studies have not included languages that actually use different types of rises linguistically. In this study we investigated the effects of L1 experience on the perception of rises by Australian-English listeners, for whom different rises signal the difference between interrogatives and declaratives in their L1, and Mandarin learners of English, who should be sensitive to tonal differences but not to the intonational differences tested here. Results demonstrate that the perception of suprasegmentals is indeed shaped by the L1 with a significantly better discrimination of rises by Australian-English listeners. Additionally, it appears that suprasegmental processing at the utterance level occurs independently from the lexical level since Mandarin listeners were not able to draw on tonal sensitivities for discrimination at the utterance (intonational) level.
KW - Intonation
KW - Perceptual bias
KW - Second language learners
KW - Speech perception
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84982902904&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference proceeding contribution
SP - 242
EP - 246
BT - Proceedings of the International Conference on Speech Prosody
PB - International Speech Communication Association (ISCA)
CY - Baixas
ER -