Tense / lax distinctions of English [s] in intervocalic position by Korean speakers : consonant / vowel ratio as a possible universal cue for consonant distinctions
Tense / lax distinctions of English [s] in intervocalic position by Korean speakers : consonant / vowel ratio as a possible universal cue for consonant distinctions
- 한국음운론학회
- 음성 음운 형태론 연구
- 음성ㆍ음운ㆍ형태론 연구 제11집 제3호
- : KCI등재
- 2005.12
- 407 - 419 (13 pages)
Several experiments have investigated voicing judgments in Germanic Languages when the duration of the first/stressed vowel and the following fricative or stop closure are varied while other cues for voicing remain constant and ambiguous (cf. Denes 1955, Port & Dalby 1982, etc.), showing that consonant/vowel ratio serves an important role for voicing distinctions. This paper investigates whether a temporal relation like consonant/vowel ratio can also be a possible cue for the distinctions of other features of consonants in a language that employs a totally different phonological system from Germanic languages. Several experiments examine how English words with intervocalic [s] are perceived by the speakers of Korean in which there are two alveolar sibilant fricatives, tense [S*] and non-tense [s]. Experiment 1 investigates how a nonce word [bisǝn] spoken by an English speaker is identified by Korean native speakers when the duration of the fricative and its preceding vowel varies in small steps. Experiment 2 investigates the effect of the vowel that follows the fricative on tensing judgment. The findings from these experiments show that a simple temporal cue like consonant/stressed vowel ratio also influences Koreans' tensing judgment, suggesting the possible nature of its universality in perception.
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Experiments
3. Conclusion
REFERENCES
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