Parameter interaction in the perception of French plosives

Area of Science:

• Phonetics and Phonology
• Speech Perception
• Psychoacoustics

Background:

• The distinction between fortis (e.g., 'p', 't', 'k') and lenis (e.g., 'b', 'd', 'g') plosives in French is crucial for intelligibility.
• Previous research focused on production features, but perception mechanisms require further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the perceptual cues differentiating French fortis and lenis plosive consonants.
• To determine the role of phonetic parameters and contextual factors in this distinction.

Main Methods:

• A series of controlled perception tests were conducted.
• Acoustic parameters analyzed included vowel duration, consonant closure duration, voicing, and release noise intensity.
• Vowel quality and phonemic identity within obstruent clusters were also examined.

Main Results:

• Perception of fortis/lenis plosives is influenced by durational and intensity cues.
• Vowel quality differences preceding consonants play a role in phoneme identification.
• In consonant clusters, both phonetic details and the phonemic nature of consonants contribute to perception.

Conclusions:

• Speech perception is a complex interplay of phonetic and contextual factors.
• Findings offer insights into the auditory processing of consonant contrasts in French.
• Results have implications for refining theories of speech perception and phonological distinctiveness.