The effect of perceptual similarity, frequency, and phonotactic restriction in loanword adaptation

2018 ◽  
Vol 144 (3) ◽  
pp. 1801-1801
Author(s):  
Yang-Yu Chen ◽  
Yu-an Lu
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Similarity ◽  
Loanword Adaptation

Perceptual similarity in loanword adaptation: English postvocalic word-final stops in Korean

Phonology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoonjung Kang
Keyword(s):  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Large Body ◽  
English Word ◽  
Perceptual Similarity ◽  
Loanword Adaptation ◽  
Loanword Phonology

When an English word with a postvocalic word-final stop is adapted to Korean, a vowel is variably inserted after the final stop. Vowel insertion in this position is puzzling not only because of its variability but also because of the fact that it is not motivated by the native phonology in any obvious way. After providing a thorough description of the vowel-insertion pattern on the basis of a survey of a large body of data, the paper proposes that vowel insertion is motivated to improve the perceptual similarity between the English input and the Korean output as well as to obey a morphophonemic restriction in Korean. The paper provides strong evidence that non-contrastive phonetic details of lending or borrowing languages are relevant in the process of loanword adaptation and at the same time suggests a richer view of loanword phonology, one which involves interaction of phonetic, phonemic and morphophonemic factors.

scholarly journals Phonological and perceptual factor symbiosis in loanword adaptation

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-39
Author(s):  
Alice Rwamo ◽  
Constantin Ntiranyibagira
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Perceptual Similarity ◽  
Perceptual Factor ◽  
Loanword Adaptation ◽  
Perceptual Salience ◽  
Production Factors ◽  
French And English ◽  
Constraint Ranking

This paper examines the two-way interaction of perceptual and production factors in the light of resolving French and English loan structures in Kirundi. The investigation is framed within the view that loanword adaptation results from attempts to match the non-native perception of the L2 input, within the confines of the L1 grammar. Neither a purely perceptual nor a purely grammatical account can explain the facts. Based on 239 French and 44 English corpora of loans, this study examines loanword adaptation at both the phonemic and the phonotactic levels. We prove how the constraint-ranking Optimality Theory (OT) can account for the phonological adaptations of loans but with limitations. The adaptation cannot be fully understood unless perceptual similarity and auditory factors are integrated in the grammar. This study enriches our understanding of the role of perceptual similarity and perceptual salience in phonology and their relationship to constraint ranking.

scholarly journals To Epenthesize or Not? Adaptations of English Coda [m] in Standard Mandarin Loanwords

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ho-Hsin Huang ◽  
Yen-Hwei Lin
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Results ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Perceptual Similarity ◽  
Perceptual Cues ◽  
Loanword Adaptation ◽  
Vowel Epenthesis ◽  
Phonological Features ◽  
Experimental Strategies ◽  
Adaptation Data

This study investigates how English coda [m] is adapted into Standard Mandarin (SM) loanwords both in the existing corpora and in perceptual similarity adaptation data from monolingual SM and bilingual SM-English speakers. The nasal [m] in coda position is prohibited in SM. Deletion, nasal place change ([m]-->[n]/[ŋ]) and vowel epenthesis are the possible repair strategies. The generalizations identified in the corpora indicate that deletion never occurs (cf. Preservation Principle from Paradis 1996, Paradis & Lacharité 1997). Vowel epenthesis appears in SM when English coda [m] is in word-medial and word final positions. Nasal place change appears when English coda [m] is followed by a labial obstruent.  Variable adaptations happen when English coda [m] is followed by an obstruent. The experimental results show that (i) the bilingual experimental strategies for nonce word adaptations are similar to the patterns observed in the SM loanwords corpora and (ii) monolinguals’ adaptation patterns are more variable due to greater dependence on perceptual cues. The fact that monolinguals and bilinguals differ in the extent to which they employ perceptual cues and phonological features/constraints for loanword adaptations challenges a pure perception-based account of loanword adaptation. 

Variation in loanword adaptation: A case from Mandarin Chinese

2020 ◽  
pp. 026765832096144
Author(s):  
Yangyu Chen ◽  
Yu-An Lu
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Forced Choice ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Perceptual Similarity ◽  
Loanword Adaptation ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Adaptation Pattern ◽  
Syllable Duration ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Mandarin Speakers

Mandarin speakers tend to adapt intervocalic nasals as either an onset of the following syllable (e.g. Bruno → bù.lŭ .n uò), as a nasal geminate (e.g. Daniel → dā n.n í.ěr), or as one of the above forms (e.g. Tiffany → dì.fú. n í or dì.fē n.n í). Huang and Lin (2013, 2016) identified two factors that may induce the nasal gemination repair: (1) when stress falls on the pre-nasal vowel and (2) when the pre-nasal vowel is a non-high lax vowel. They hypothesized that Mandarin Chinese speakers insert a nasal coda to perceptually approximate the stronger nasalization and longer syllable duration associated with the stressed syllables, and the shorter vowel duration of a lax vowel because the vowels in closed syllables are shorter in Mandarin. The results from two forced-choice identification experiments and an open-ended transcription task showed that although Mandarin speakers’ choices of different repairs were indeed biased by the different phonetic manipulations, suggesting an effect of perceptual similarity, their decisions were mainly guided by native phonotactics. The overall findings suggest that phonotactic, phonetic, as well as non-linguistic (i.e. frequency) factors interact with each other, resulting in the variable adaptation pattern.

The Effect of Outcome Probability on Generalization in Predictive Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadar Ram ◽  
Dieter Struyf ◽  
Bram Vervliet ◽  
Gal Menahem ◽  
Nira Liberman
Keyword(s):  
High Probability ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
Perceptual Similarity ◽  
Learning Paradigm ◽  
Predictive Learning ◽  
Lightning Bolt ◽  
Outcome Probability

Abstract. People apply what they learn from experience not only to the experienced stimuli, but also to novel stimuli. But what determines how widely people generalize what they have learned? Using a predictive learning paradigm, we examined the hypothesis that a low (vs. high) probability of an outcome following a predicting stimulus would widen generalization. In three experiments, participants learned which stimulus predicted an outcome (S+) and which stimulus did not (S−) and then indicated how much they expected the outcome after each of eight novel stimuli ranging in perceptual similarity to S+ and S−. The stimuli were rings of different sizes and the outcome was a picture of a lightning bolt. As hypothesized, a lower probability of the outcome widened generalization. That is, novel stimuli that were similar to S+ (but not to S−) produced expectations for the outcome that were as high as those associated with S+.

The perceptual similarity of orb-spider prey lures and flower colours

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. White ◽  
Rhiannon L. Dalrymple ◽  
Marie E. Herberstein ◽  
Darrell J. Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Similarity ◽  
Flower Colours
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