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Production and perception of temporal patterns in native and non-native speech
Tessa Bent1, Ann R Bradlow, Bruce L Smith
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind., USA. tbent@indiana.edu
Phonetica
|August 6, 2008
Summary
Native and non-native English speakers differ in producing vowel duration patterns. These production differences, along with shared phonetic knowledge, impact speech intelligibility for listeners.
Area of Science:
- Phonetics
- Second Language Acquisition
- Speech Perception
Background:
- Native and non-native speakers often exhibit differences in speech production.
- Temporal patterns in speech, such as vowel duration, are crucial for intelligibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how native (English) and non-native (Chinese L1) speakers produce English temporal patterns.
- To determine if production differences affect non-native English speech perception and intelligibility.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Analyzed vowel duration patterns in native and Chinese-accented English productions.
- Experiment 2: Assessed native and non-native listeners' identification of words produced by native and non-native speakers, focusing on final consonant voicing.
Main Results:
- Non-native speakers showed significant differences in vowel lengthening before voiced/voiceless consonants compared to native speakers.
- Listener identification accuracy was influenced by these vowel duration differences, suggesting a role in intelligibility.
- Speech intelligibility is linked to shared phonetic knowledge, not just adherence to idealized production norms.
Conclusions:
- Vowel duration differences in non-native speech production contribute to intelligibility challenges.
- Shared phonetic knowledge between speakers and listeners is a key factor in successful speech communication.
- Intelligibility is a complex phenomenon influenced by multiple acoustic and cognitive factors.
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