Benjamin V. Tucker

Semantic context effects in the comprehension of reduced pronunciation variants

Listeners require context to understand the highly reduced words that occur in casual speech. The present study reports four auditory lexical decision experiments in which the role of semantic context in the comprehension of reduced versus unreduced speech was investigated. Experiments 1 and 2 showed semantic priming for combinations of unreduced, but not reduced, primes and low-frequency targets. In Experiment 3, we crossed the reduction of the prime with the reduction of the target. Results showed no semantic priming from reduced primes, regardless of the reduction of the targets. Finally, Experiment 4 showed that reduced and unreduced primes facilitate upcoming low-frequency related words equally if the interstimulus interval is extended. These results suggest that semantically related words need more time to be recognized after reduced primes, but once reduced primes have been fully (semantically) processed, these primes can facilitate the recognition of upcoming words as well as do unreduced primes.

The influence of gradient foreign accentedness and listener experience on word recognition

Abstract The present article examines lexical processing of foreign-accented speech, specifically as it relates to gradient foreign accentedness and listener experience. In two experiments, we investigate the effect of accentedness and experience on the strength of lexical activation and the time-course of word recognition utilizing native- and Mandarin-accented English words. Gradient and non-linear patterns emerged for both accentedness and experience. Experiment 1 employed cross-modal identity priming and the analysis of reaction times indicates that tokens with a greater degree of accentedness result in a reduced effectiveness of the identity prime. Listener experience with Chinese-accented English positively influenced activation strength in a gradient fashion. Experiment 2 employed visual world eye-tracking and the analysis of looks to the target word indicates that the time-course of recognition differs across the accentedness continuum, slowing as accentedness increases. Again, listener experience improved the time-course of word recognition. The results are discussed in terms of foreign-accented speech processing and long-term adaptation to non-native variability and suggest the need for a dynamic systems approach.

From documenting to revitalizing an endangered language: where do applied linguists fit?

This paper explores the distance between documenting and revitalizing endangered languages and indicates critical points at which applied linguistics can play a role. We look at language documentation, language revitalization and their relationship. We then provide some examples from our own work. We see the lack of applied linguistics as a potential missing link in endangered language work. We call for more applied linguistic training and research focused on endangered languages, more attention to endangered languages within second language pedagogy programmes and a heightened awareness of the need for teamwork across all stakeholders in endangered language contexts.

Perceived foreign accentedness: acoustic distances and lexical properties.

In this study, we examined speaker-dependent (acoustic) and speaker-independent (lexical) linguistic influences on perceived foreign accentedness. Accentedness ratings assigned to Chinese-accented English words were analyzed, taking accentedness as a continuum. The speaker-dependent variables were included as acoustic distances, measured in relation to typical native-speaker values. The speaker-independent variable measures were related to the properties of individual words, not influenced by the speech signal. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this represents the first attempt to examine speaker-dependent and speaker-independent variables simultaneously. The model indicated that the perception of accentedness is affected by both acoustic goodness of fit and lexical properties. The results are discussed in terms of matching variability in the input to multidimensional representations.

Mennonite Plautdietsch (Canadian Old Colony)

Mennonite Plautdietsch (ISO 639–3: pdt) is a West Germanic (Indo-European) language belonging to the Low Prussian ( Niederpreusisch ) subgroup of Eastern Low German ( Ostniederdeutsch ), a continuum of closely related varieties spoken in northern Poland until the Second World War (Ziesemer 1924, Mitzka 1930, Thiessen 1963). Although its genetic affiliation with these other, now-moribund Polish varieties is uncontested, Mennonite Plautdietsch represents an exceptional member of this grouping. It was adopted as the language of in-group communication by Mennonites escaping religious persecution in northwestern and central Europe during the mid-sixteenth century, and later accompanied these pacifist Anabaptist Christians over several successive generations of emigration and exile through Poland, Ukraine, and parts of the Russian Empire. As a result of this extensive migration history, Mennonite Plautdietsch is spoken today in diasporic speech communities on four continents and in over a dozen countries by an estimated 300,000 people, primarily descendants of these so-called Russian Mennonites (Epp 1993, Lewis 2009).

Practice makes perfect: the consequences of lexical proficiency for articulation

Abstract Many studies report shorter acoustic durations, more coarticulation and reduced articulatory targets for frequent words. This study investigates a factor ignored in discussions on the relation between frequency and phonetic detail, namely, that motor skills improve with experience. Since frequency is a measure of experience, it follows that frequent words should show increased articulatory proficiency. We used EMA to test this prediction on German inflected verbs with [a] as stem vowels. Modeling median vertical tongue positions with quantile regression, we observed significant modulation by frequency of the U-shaped trajectory characterizing the articulation of the [a:]. These modulations reflect two constraints, one favoring smooth trajectories through anticipatory coarticulation, and one favoring clear articulation by realizing lower minima. The predominant pattern across sensors, exponents, and speech rate suggests that the constraint of clarity dominates for lower-frequency words. For medium-frequency words, the smoothness constraint leads to a raising of the trajectory. For the higher-frequency words, both constraints are met simultaneously, resulting in low minima and stronger coarticulation. These consequences of motor practice for articulation challenge both the common view that a higher-frequency of use comes with more articulatory reduction, and cognitive models of speech production positing that articulation is post-lexical.

Conceptual relations compete during auditory and visual compound word recognition

ABSTRACT Previous research has shown that compound word recognition involves selecting a relational meaning (e.g. “box for letters” for letterbox) out of a set of competing relational meanings for the same compound. We conducted five experiments to investigate the role of competition between relational meanings across visual and auditory compound word processing. In Experiment 1 conceptual relations judgments were collected for 604 English compound words. From this database we computed an information-theoretic measure of competition between conceptual relations – entropy of conceptual relations. Experiments 2 and 3 report that greater entropy (i.e. increased competition) among a set of conceptual relations leads to longer latencies for compounds in auditory lexical decision. Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrate the same result in two visual lexical decision studies. These findings provide evidence that relational meanings are constructed and evaluated during compound recognition, regardless of whether compounds are recognised via auditory or visual input.

It's all about, like, acoustics

The present study explores the possibility of systematic acoustic differences that could be used to differentiate ‘homophones’. This study investigates productions of like in western Canadian English, focussing specifically on acoustic characteristics and whether they differ across multiple distinct lexical and grammatical functions. Segment duration, word duration, and degree of diphthongization are explored for variation as a function of semantic category. We demonstrate that some variation is predictable given the form of like a speaker produces.

LABORATORY ACTIVITIES FOR LARGE AND ONLINE PHONETICS CLASSES

Phonetics is an inherently lab-oriented topic, involving the investigation and analysis of speech data; but it is often taught in large sections with limited instructional time and other resources, so instructors are unable to engage in the deep interactive explorations of topics that would be ideal. We present three phonetics laboratory activities designed to address this problem. In addition, these activities can engage students in material in ways that are not possible in a primarily lecture-based course; they can provide a source of empirical data for use in longitudinal research; and they can give students a taste of the experimental investigations from which much of the material in their course derives. We discuss pedagogical goals, activity design and grading. We also discuss challenges and successes in the implementation of these activities.

Fourth formant dip as a correlate of American English flaps

Unlike the lower formant frequencies, the fourth formant frequency (F4) is rarely an important acoustic correlate of speech. This study shows evidence of a depression in F4 for some tokens of the American English flap. F4 may be lowered during American English /r/ (Espy‐Wilson et al., 2000) and during retroflex sounds of some languages (e.g., Pima, as found by Avelino and Kim, 2002), but other cues are likely to be more prominent for such sounds. The current project uses a corpus of acoustic measurements of flapped English /t, d/ (e.g., pretty, order) and shows an inconsistent but large drop in F4 at the flap consonant. This occurs predominantly near an /r/, but the F4 drop is timed to the flap, not the /r/. In some tokens, this F4 drop occurs even if the flap is reduced to an approximant, leaving few other acoustic cues to its presence. The F4 drop likely reflects a sublingual cavity resonance caused by an interaction of the tongue positions for /r/ and for a flap. This study presents results on the dist...