The acoustic realization of language-specific phonological categories despite dynamic cross-linguistic influence in bilingual and trilingual speech

2021 ◽  
Vol 149 (2) ◽  
pp. 1271-1284
Author(s):  
Mark Amengual
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Categories

Categorization and feature specification in phonological acquisition

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith A. Gierut
Keyword(s):  
Distinctive Feature ◽  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Category Membership ◽  
Classification Task ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Phonological Categories ◽  
Linguistic Input ◽  
Phonological Contrasts ◽  
Free Classification

ABSTRACTDistinctive feature specification and representation in phonological acquisition are examined in the context of underspecification theory. Subjects were 30 children (aged 3;1 to 5;10) who exhibited systematic differences in their linguistic knowledge of target phonological contrasts. A free classification task was used to tap children's conceptual knowledge of these contrasts, with features of place and manner experimentally manipulated. Three questions were addressed: which features do children use to categorize segmentai information, do the defining features of a category shift as the phonological system advances, and which framework of underspecification theory best accounts for the results? All children categorized segments on the basis of marked nonredundant featural properties, and used only one feature value to define category membership consistent with radical underspecification. Linguistic knowledge and linguistic input both influenced children's category judgements, but to different degrees. The emergence of phonological categories involved increasing feature differentiation as the child's productive phonology advanced.

scholarly journals Language and Learner Specific Influences on the Emergence of Consonantal Place and Manner Features

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvan Rose ◽  
Natalie Penney
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Phonological Representation ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Distributional Properties ◽  
Phonological Categories ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
The Way

This article focuses on the emergence of consonantal place and manner feature categories in the speech of first language learners. Starting with an overview of current representational approaches to phonology, we take the position that only models that allow for the emergence of phonological categories at all levels of phonological representation (from sub-segmental properties of speech sounds all the way to word forms represented within the child’s lexicon) can account for the data. We begin with a cross-linguistic survey of the acquisition of rhotic consonants. We show that the types of substitutions affecting different rhotics cross-linguistically can be predicted from two main observations: the phonetic characteristics of these rhotics and the larger system of categories displayed by each language. We then turn to a peculiar pattern of labial substitution for coronal continuants in the speech of a German learner. Building on previous literature on the topic, we attribute the emergence of this pattern to distributional properties of the child’s developing lexicon. Together, these observations suggest that our understanding of phonological emergence must involve a consideration of multiple, potentially interacting levels of phonetic and phonological representation.

scholarly journals The Phonetic Space of Phonological Categories in Heritage Speakers of Mandarin

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles B Chang ◽  
Erin F Haynes ◽  
Yao Yao ◽  
Russell Rhodes
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Phonological Categories

scholarly journals The Message Shapes Phonology

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew B Wedel ◽  
Kathleen Hall ◽  
T. Florian Jaeger ◽  
Elizabeth Hume
Keyword(s):  
Information Theory ◽  
Bayesian Inference ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Message Transmission ◽  
Phonological Categories ◽  
Resource Cost ◽  
Sound Patterns ◽  
Complementary Set ◽  
Testable Model

Based on a diverse and complementary set of theoretical and empirical findings, we describe an approach to phonology in which sound patterns are shaped by the trade-off between biases supporting message transmission accuracy and resource cost. We refer to this approach as Message-Oriented Phonology. The evidence suggests that these biases influence the form of messages, defined with reference to a language's morphemes, words or higher levels of meaning, rather than influencing phonological categories directly. Integrating concepts from information theory and Bayesian inference with the existing body of phonological research, we propose a testable model of phonology that makes quantitative predictions. Moreover, we show that approaching language as a system of message transfer provides greater explanatory coverage of a diverse range of sound patterns.

scholarly journals Individual Differences in Subphonemic Sensitivity and Phonological Skills

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Yin Chen Li ◽  
David Braze ◽  
Anuenue Kukona ◽  
Clinton L. Johns ◽  
Whitney Tabor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Reading Difficulty ◽  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Phonological Skills ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Phonological Categories ◽  
Phonemic Category ◽  
Phonological Abilities

Many studies have established a link between phonological abilities (indexed by phonological awareness and phonological memory tasks) and typical and atypical reading development. Individuals who perform poorly on phonological assessments have been mostly assumed to have underspecified (or “fuzzy”) phonological re- presentations, with typical phonemic categories, but with greater category overlap due to imprecise encoding. An alternative posits that poor readers have overspecified phonological representations, with speech sounds perceived allophonically (phonetically distinct variants of a single phonemic category). On both accounts, mismatch between phonological categories and orthography leads to reading difficulty. Here, we consider the implications of these accounts for online speech processing. We used eye tracking and an individual differences approach to assess sensitivity to subphonemic detail in a community sample of young adults with a wide range of reading-related skills. Subphonemic sensitivity inversely correlated with meta-phonological task performance, consistent with overspecification.

The Evolution of the Chinese Sìhū 四呼 Concept of Syllable Classification

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard VanNess Simmons
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Chinese Tradition ◽  
Phonological Features ◽  
Phonological Categories ◽  
Phonological Feature ◽  
Chinese Dialect ◽  
The Prestige

Summary This paper examines the origins and evolution of the Chinese linguistic concept known as the sìhū 四呼 “four types of rime onset” that is frequently applied to the description and analysis of Mandarin and Chinese dialect phonology. Through the examination of phonological texts primarily of the Míng (1368–1644) and Qīng (1644–1911) periods, the author follows the evolution of the sìhū as a phonological feature and outlines the development of the sìhū concept as well as the evolution of the actual term “sìhū” The underlying phonology of the sìhū emerged following the divergence of Mandarin from the other dialects in the Sòng (960–1279), through the Yuán (1271–1386), and into the Míng. The discovery and description of the sìhū was closely related to developments in phonological analysis made by Míng scholars as they departed from Middle Chinese tradition (of the 7th to the 12th centuries) and mapped out contemporary Mandarin pronunciation, especially that of the prestige Mandarin koinē known as Guānhuà. The emergence and description of the sìhū are thus found to parallel the evolution of Mandarin, as the phonological categories the sìhū represent evolved in concert with characteristic Mandarin features. The attention that Míng and Qīng scholars gave to the rime onset types of the sìhū analysis demonstrates that the phonological features represented by this four-way paradigm were considered to be important elements of contemporary forms of prestige Mandarin.

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