scholarly journals Covariation of stop voice onset time across languages: Evidence for a universal constraint on phonetic realization

2019 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. EL109-EL115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor Chodroff ◽  
Alessandra Golden ◽  
Colin Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Phonetic Realization ◽  
Universal Constraint

scholarly journals Phonetic structures of Turkish Kabardian

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Gordon ◽  
Ayla Applebaum
Keyword(s):  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Spectral Characteristics ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Aerodynamic Characteristics ◽  
Rare Type ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Short Vowels ◽  
Closure Duration ◽  
Phonetic Study ◽  
Phonetic Realization

This paper reports results of a quantitative phonetic study of Kabardian, a Northwest Caucasian language that is of typological interest from a phonetic standpoint. A number of cross-linguistically rare properties are examined. These features include the phonetic realization of Kabardian's small vowel inventory, which contains only three contrastive vowel qualities (two short vowels and one long vowel), spectral characteristics of the ten supralaryngeal voiceless fricatives of Kabardian, as well as the acoustic, palatographic, and aerodynamic characteristics of ejective fricatives, an extremely rare type of segment cross-linguistically. In addition, basic properties of the consonant stop series are explored, including closure duration and voice onset time, in order to test postulated universals linking these properties to place of articulation and laryngeal setting.

Voice onset time in bilingual German-Spanish children

2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARGARET M. KEHOE ◽  
CONXITA LLEÓ ◽  
MARTIN RAKOW
Keyword(s):  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Voicing Contrast ◽  
Period 2 ◽  
German Children ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Phonetic Realization ◽  
Language Influence

This study examines the acquisition of the voicing contrast in German-Spanish bilingual children, on the basis of the acoustic measurement of Voice Onset Time (VOT). VOT in four bilingual children (aged 2;0–3;0) was measured and compared to VOT in three monolingual German children (aged 1;9–2;6), and to previous literature findings in Spanish. All measurements were based on word-initial stops extracted from naturalistic speech recordings. Results revealed that the bilingual children displayed three different patterns of VOT development: 1. Delay in the phonetic realization of voicing: two bilingual children did not acquire long lag stops in German during the testing period; 2. Transfer of voicing features: one child produced German voiced stops with lead voicing and Spanish voiceless stops with long lag voicing; and 3. No cross-language influence in the phonetic realization of voicing. The relevance of the findings for cross-linguistic interaction in bilingual phonetic/phonological development is discussed.

Comparison of VOTs in Mandarin–English bilingual children and corresponding monolingual children and adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-26
Author(s):  
Jing Yang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Language Difference ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Phonetic Realization ◽  
Time Continuum

Word-initial stops in Mandarin and English show a distinctive phonological categorization but a similar phonetic realization along the VOT (Voice Onset Time) continuum. Previous research reported that native Mandarin adults produce measurably longer long-lag VOTs than native English adults. The present study examined whether and how the difference between Mandarin and English VOTs is manifested in monolingual children and Mandarin–English bilingual children. The participants included 15 five- to six-year-old sequential bilingual children, 24 corresponding monolingual children (15 Mandarin, 9 English), and 22 monolingual adults (12 Mandarin, 10 English). The bilingual children were divided into two groups (Bi-low and Bi-high) based on the amount of experience in English. Each participant was recorded producing 18 Mandarin words and/or 18 English words containing six stops in each language. The VOT values were measured from the beginning of stop burst to the onset of the voicing. The results showed that the language difference in VOT in the monolingual children was manifested in a pattern similar to the monolingual adults. However, Mandarin and English VOTs showed less separable distributions in the two groups of bilingual children. Further analysis suggested that both groups of bilingual children tended to separate Mandarin and English short-lag VOTs but only the Bi-low children showed different long-lag VOTs between the two languages. These results suggested that due to the bilingual effects and L1–L2 (first language – second language) interactions, even though the bilingual children tried to separate the two VOT systems, they implemented the separation in a different manner than the monolingual speakers.

scholarly journals Longitudinal Developments in Bilingual Second Language Acquisition and First Language Attrition of Speech: The Case of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Lisa Kornder ◽  
Ineke Mennen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Speech Development ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
First Language Attrition ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
L1 And L2

The purpose of this investigation was to trace first (L1) and second language (L2) segmental speech development in the Austrian German–English late bilingual Arnold Schwarzenegger over a period of 40 years, which makes it the first study to examine a bilingual’s speech development over several decades in both their languages. To this end, acoustic measurements of voice onset time (VOT) durations of word-initial plosives (Study 1) and formant frequencies of the first and second formant of Austrian German and English monophthongs (Study 2) were conducted using speech samples collected from broadcast interviews. The results of Study 1 showed a merging of Schwarzenegger’s German and English voiceless plosives in his late productions as manifested in a significant lengthening of VOT duration in his German plosives, and a shortening of VOT duration in his English plosives, closer to L1 production norms. Similar findings were evidenced in Study 2, revealing that some of Schwarzenegger’s L1 and L2 vowel categories had moved closer together in the course of L2 immersion. These findings suggest that both a bilingual’s first and second language accent is likely to develop and reorganize over time due to dynamic interactions between the first and second language system.

Phonetic feature size in second language acquisition: Examining VOT in voiceless and voiced stops

2021 ◽  
pp. 026765832110089
Author(s):  
Daniel J Olson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Stop Consonant ◽  
Acoustic Similarity ◽  
Stop Consonants ◽  
Voiceless Stop ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Featural approaches to second language phonetic acquisition posit that the development of new phonetic norms relies on sub-phonemic features, expressed through a constellation of articulatory gestures and their corresponding acoustic cues, which may be shared across multiple phonemes. Within featural approaches, largely supported by research in speech perception, debate remains as to the fundamental scope or ‘size’ of featural units. The current study examines potential featural relationships between voiceless and voiced stop consonants, as expressed through the voice onset time cue. Native English-speaking learners of Spanish received targeted training on Spanish voiceless stop consonant production through a visual feedback paradigm. Analysis focused on the change in voice onset time, for both voiceless (i.e. trained) and voiced (i.e. non-trained) phonemes, across the pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest. The results demonstrated a significant improvement (i.e. reduction) in voice onset time for voiceless stops, which were subject to the training paradigm. In contrast, there was no significant change in the non-trained voiced stop consonants. These results suggest a limited featural relationship, with independent voice onset time (VOT) cues for voiceless and voices phonemes. Possible underlying mechanisms that limit feature generalization in second language (L2) phonetic production, including gestural considerations and acoustic similarity, are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document