Mee Sonu

Contextual analysis on geminate/singleton identification difficulties for L2 learners of Japanese based on perceptual features

It is widely known that Japanese geminate/singleton consonant identification is one of the biggest problems for L2 learners. We have been analyzing identification error characteristics based on their perceptually motivated features. In this presentation, after briefly introducing observed remarkable identification error chracteristics on phonetic context differences with speech rate variations, we have tried to analyze and quantify the difficulties using identification error rates by Japanese beginners of Korean natives. 36 geminate/singleton pairs in 2-5 mora with three speech rates were used for identification experiments. To understand the difficulties quantitatively, objectively measurable acoustic variables such as duration length, loudness and its jumps of the corresponding geminate/singleton consonants were employed to carry out prediction analysis for L2’s identification error rates. Correlation between predicted error rates and observed ones has turned out to be around 0.6 with the speech rates w...

Analysis on L2 learners' perception errors between geminate and singleton of Japanese consonants using loudness related parameters

For better understanding of the identification difficulties in Japanese geminate/singleton consonants for second language (L2) learners, a perceptual factor is newly introduced to supply the insufficiencies of conventional explanations solely using acoustic duration differences. To systematically explain speech-rate related serious errors of geminate/singleton identification in fast/slow speech, loudness related parameters are used to reflect perceptual characteristics on duration. Correlation analyses have shown that these parameters can provide reasonable explanation for error characteristics obtained in the perceptual experiment on Japanese geminate/singleton consonants by Korean learners. A new possibility is suggested to design L2 teaching materials for Japanese geminate/singleton consonants with different phonetic contexts based on expected difficulties resulting from their loudness differences.

Effect of speaking rate variation on the perception of singleton and geminate consonants in Japanese by native and Korean listeners

Perception of phonemic length contrasts in Japanese is difficult for non-native listeners. To better understand the source of this difficulty, the present study investigated native Korean listeners’ perception of consonant length contrasts at different speaking rates. Stimuli were created by modifying the duration of the second consonant of a non-word /ereC:e/ along a continuum to /ereCe/, where C was /k/ or /s/. The base words were spoken by a professionally trained native Japanese speaker with a carrier sentence at three rates, fast, normal, slow. Twenty-seven native Korean and eleven native Japanese listeners participated in a perception test. They listened to one of the created stimuli and identified whether the second consonant was singleton or geminate. Results show that even though Korean listeners’ perceptual boundary location between singleton and geminate consonants shifted according to speaking rate in a similar manner as the natives, their boundary location was more variable than native listen...

Training Korean listeners to perceive phonemic length contrasts in Japanese: Effects of speaking rate variation and contrast type

Japanese phonemic length contrasts are difficult to perceive for native-Korean listeners learning Japanese as a second language (L2). Aiming at an effective L2 training method for L2 learners, two experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 evaluated which acoustic cues Korean listeners rely on when categorizing the phonemic length contrast. Experiment 2 examined how differences in speaking rate variation (slow, normal, and fast) and contrast type (vowel contrast vs. consonant contrast) would affect the effectiveness of perceptual training, using a minimal-pair identification task with words embedded in carrier sentences. There were four training conditions comprising combinations of two contrast types (vowel or consonant length) and two speaking-rate variations (single rate or three different rates). Results show that L2 listeners exploit absolute segmental duration to identify phonemic length contrast rather than durational criteria that vary according to speaking rate. Moreover, the trained groups signifi...