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摘要：In spoken French, the phonological processes of liaison and resyllabification can render word and syllable boundaries ambiguous (e.g., un air 'an air'/un nerf 'a nerve,' both [.nE]). Production data have demonstrated that speakers of French vary the duration of consonants that surface in liaison environments relative to consonants produced word initially. Further research has suggested that listeners exploit these durational differences in the processing of running speech, although no study to date has directly tested this hypothesis. The current study examines the exploitation of duration in word recognition processes by manipulating this single acoustic factor while holding all other factors in the signal constant. The pivotal consonants in potentially ambiguous French sequences (e.g., /n/ in un nerf) were instrumentally shortened and lengthened and presented to listeners in two behavioral tasks. The results suggest that listeners are sensitive to segmental duration and use this information to modulate the lexical interpretation of spoken French. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This study investigates whether native Hmong speakers' first language (L1) lexical tone experience facilitates or interferes with their perception of Mandarin tones and whether training is effective for perceptual learning of second (L2) tones. In Experiment 1, 3 groups of beginning level learners of Mandarin with different L1 prosodic background (Hmong, Japanese, and English) took a perception test on Mandarin tones. Both the English and Japanese groups outperformed the Hmong group in perceptual accuracy of Mandarin tones. In Experiment 2, 18 learners with different L1 background received either perception training only or perception with production training on Mandarin tones for 6 hours within 3-4 weeks. Both training paradigms were effective for perceptual learning of Mandarin tone contrasts as the two training groups' perceptual accuracy improved significantly at posttest compared with a control group. Although Hmong speakers initially had more difficulties in perception of Mandarin tones than the other 2 groups, they are by no means disadvantaged by their L1 prosodic background as they gain L2 experience after intensive training.

摘要：Comprehensibility, a major concept in second language (L2) pronunciation research that denotes listeners' perceptions of how easily they understand L2 speech, is central to interlocutors' communicative success in real-world contexts. Although comprehensibility has been modeled in several L2 oral proficiency scales -- for example, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) -- shortcomings of existing scales (e.g., vague descriptors) reflect limited empirical evidence as to which linguistic aspects influence listeners' judgments of L2 comprehensibility at different ability levels. To address this gap, a mixed-methods approach was used in the present study to gain a deeper understanding of the linguistic aspects underlying listeners' L2 comprehensibility ratings. First, speech samples of 40 native French learners of English were analyzed using 19 quantitative speech measures, including segmental, suprasegmental, fluency, lexical, grammatical, and discourse-level variables. These measures were then correlated with 60 native English listeners' scalar judgments of the speakers' comprehensibility. Next, three English as a second language (ESL) teachers provided introspective reports on the linguistic aspects of speech that they attended to when judging L2 comprehensibility. Following data triangulation, five speech measures were identified that clearly distinguished between L2 learners at different comprehensibility levels. Lexical richness and fluency measures differentiated between low-level learners; grammatical and discourse-level measures differentiated between high-level learners; and word stress errors discriminated between learners of all levels. Adapted from the source document

摘要：A high variability phonetic training technique was employed to train 26 Mandarin speakers to better perceive ten English vowels. In eight short training sessions, learners identified 200 English vowel tokens, produced in a post bilabial stop context by 20 native speakers. Learners' ability to identify English vowels significantly improved in the training context and in one novel phonetic context. Training did not transfer to a third phonetic context. A delayed posttest indicated that improvement was maintained for one month after training was completed, although in the absence of training, no further improvement was found. Learners' scalar judgments regarding the certainty of their choices on identification tests indicated a significant increase in confidence after training. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This study is intended to help ESL (English as a second language) instructors make evidence-based decisions based on second language (L2) listening-development findings when selecting features for pronunciation instruction. In a longitudinal study of listening perception, we examined five common problems to determine which were most likely to improve in the absence of explicit instruction and which ones did not improve over time. Twenty Mandarin and 20 Slavic language speakers completed 5 tasks at 2-month intervals over a period of 10 months; we measured their listening perception of word stress, sentence stress, intonation, can/can't, and -teen/-ty number distinctions. We also compared the participants' scores at the final testing time to native speaker scores on the same tests. The L2 learners' perceptions of sentence stress, intonation, and -teen/-ty number distinctions improved while their perceptions of word stress and can/can't did not. When the L2 speakers' performance on the tests at the 10-month point was compared to that of the native speakers, there were no significant differences for word stress, intonation, and -teen/-ty number distinctions. However, the native speakers significantly outperformed the Slavic speakers on sentence stress and outperformed both the Slavic and Mandarin speakers on can/can't distinctions. Implications for pronunciation teaching within general adult ESL classes are discussed. Adapted from the source document

摘要：In the process of language learning, individuals must acquire different types of linguistic knowledge, such as the sounds of the language (phonemes), how these may be combined to form words (phonotactics), and morphological rules. Early and late bilinguals tend to perform like natives on second language phonological tasks that involve pre-lexical processes (e.g., categorization or identification of isolate phonemes) but their performance decreases when the tasks tap into lexical processes (e.g., accessing to the lexicon storage and selecting the appropriate words). This graded performance across phonological processes is consistent with the processing hierarchy proposed by different models of (native) speech perception. The relation between the first and second languages is further evidenced by the correlation between native and non-native phoneme discrimination of both early and late bilinguals. This correlation provides evidence that individual differences in the command of non-native sounds are caused by a language-specific capability. We propose that the study of second language processes combined with the assessment of individual differences is a relevant field for the understanding of the speech perception architecture. Adapted from the source document

摘要：The theoretical framework of this study is based on the prevalent debate of whether prosodic processing is influenced by higher level linguistic-specific circuits or reflects lower level encoding of physical properties. Using the dichotic listening technique, the study investigates the hemispheric processing of Japanese pitch accent by native Japanese listeners and two groups of nonnative listeners with no prior pitch accent experience but differing in their native language experience with linguistic pitch: native listeners of Mandarin (a tone language with higher linguistic functional use of pitch) and native listeners of English (a stress language with lower functional use of pitch). The overall results reveal that, for both native and nonnative listeners, the processing of Japanese pitch accent is less lateralized (compared to lexical tone processing, which has been found to be a left hemisphere property). However, detailed analysis with individual pitch accents across groups shows a right hemisphere preference for processing the high-accent-low (H*L) pattern, a left hemisphere preference for LH*, and no hemisphere dominance for LH, indicating a significant reliance on the acoustic cues. These patterns are particularly prominent with the English listeners who are least experienced with linguistic pitch. Together, the findings suggest an interplay of linguistic and acoustic aspects in the processing of Japanese pitch accent by native and nonnative listeners. Adapted from the source document

摘要：In this study we explore listeners' sensitivity to vowel (VV) coarticulation, using both event-related potential (ERP) and behavioral methodologies. The stimuli used were vowels "colored" by the coarticulatory influence of other vowels across one, three or five intervening segments. The paradigm used in the ERP portion of the study was intended to elicit the mismatch-negativity (MMN) component, a negative deflection typically seen at central midline scalp sites about 200 ms after the presentation of a "deviant" acoustic stimulus occurring among a train of "standard" acoustic stimuli. VV coarticulation at near and medium distances was associated with significant MMN-like effects, which however were not observed in response to the longest distance coarticulatory contrasts. Subjects' ERP results did not predict their performance on the behavioral task, which found evidence of listener sensitivity to even the furthest distance coarticulatory effects. Although the MMN has previously been shown to be sensitive to phonemic contrasts, this is the first study using ERP methodology to investigate the subphonemic processing associated with the perception of coarticulation. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This study examined whether high-variability auditory training on natural speech can benefit experienced second-language English speakers who already are exposed to natural variability in their daily use of English. The subjects were native French speakers who had learned English in school; experienced listeners were tested in England and the less experienced listeners were tested in France. Both groups were given eight sessions of high-variability phonetic training for English vowels, and were given a battery of perception and production tests to evaluate their improvement. The results demonstrated that both groups learned to similar degrees, suggesting that training provides a type of learning that is distinct from that obtained in more naturalistic situations. Adapted from the source document

摘要：Individual differences in abilities to form, access, and hone phonological representations of words are implicated in the development of oral and written language. This study addressed three important gaps in the literature concerning measurement of individual differences in phonological representation. First, we empirically examined the dimensionality of phonological representation abilities. Second, we empirically compared how well typical measures index various representation-related phonological processing abilities. Third, we supply data on Spanish phonological representation abilities of incipient Spanish-English bilingual children to address the need for information on phonological representation across languages. Specifically, nine measures of accessibility to and precision of phonological presentations were administered to 129 preschool children in the United States. Confirmatory factor analyses validated three separate but correlated a priori phonological processing abilities, that is, efficiency of accessing phonological codes, precision of phonological codes as reflected in speech production, and precision of phonological codes as reflected in speech perception. Most prototypic measures were strong indicators of their respective representation-related phonological ability. We discuss how the current data in Spanish compares to limited data in English, and the implications for the organization of phonological representations abilities. Adapted from the source document

摘要：Adult second-language (L2) learners' perception of L2 phonetic segments is influenced by first-language phonological and phonetic properties. It was recently proposed that L2 vocabulary size in adult learners is related to changes in L2 perception (perceptual assimilation model), analogous to the emergence of first-language phonological function (i.e., attunement to the phonological identity of words) associated with the "vocabulary explosion" at 18 months. In a preliminary investigation of the relationship between L2 perception and vocabulary size, Japanese learners of Australian English identified Australian English vowels, provided goodness of fit ratings, and completed a vocabulary size questionnaire. We adopted a "whole-system" approach, allowing learners to apply all native vowel system possibilities to the full L2 vowel system. Learners with a larger L2 vocabulary were more consistent in their vowel assimilation patterns, compatible with the L2 perceptual assimilation model. Adapted from the source document

摘要：The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that the extent to which orthography affects spoken word recognition in literate adults is related to their spelling proficiency. The study included two components: an auditory lexical decision task manipulating orthographic consistency of the stimuli and a spelling test. The results replicated previously found effects of orthographic consistency on the accuracy and latency of lexical decisions. The size of the orthographic effect in the auditory task was estimated for each participant. The variability in the orthographic effect size among participants was partially explained by their spelling skills. Possible interpretations of this finding and methodological implications for future research are discussed. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This study examines how listener judgments of second language speech relate to individual differences in listeners' phonological memory, attention control, and musical ability. Sixty native English listeners (30 music majors, 30 nonmusic majors) rated 40 nonnative speech samples for accentedness, comprehensibility, and fluency. The listeners were also assessed for phonological memory (serial recognition), attention control (trail making), and musical aptitude. Results showed that music majors assigned significantly lower scores than nonmusic majors solely for accentedness, particularly for low ability second language speakers. However, the ratings were not significantly affected by individual differences in listeners' phonological memory and attention control, which implies that these factors do not bias listeners' subjective judgments of speech. Implications for psycholinguistic research and for high-stakes speaking assessments are discussed. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This research investigates whether English speakers who learn Mandarin Chinese via a familiar orthography differ from those who learn via a non-familiar orthography in their perception of English-Mandarin sound pairs. Canadian English speakers (n= 32) participated in a series of experimental tasks. The tasks included pre- and posttest perception tests and language classes where the participants learned Mandarin through 1 of 3 means: Pinyin, the familiar orthography; Zhuyin, the non-familiar orthography; or no orthography. The results indicate that the 3 learning groups exhibited similar perceptual performances. These results are discussed in terms of the strength of the established first language (L1) orthographic system, the cognitive load, and the length of time required for the development of new symbol-sound associations. The data suggest that Mandarin instruction via Zhuyin does not appear to have an advantage over instruction via Pinyin, as conflict between 2 orthographic systems appears to neutralize any potential benefits. This is the first systematic study to investigate the potential influence of the L1 orthographic code on second language speech perception. Adapted from the source document

摘要：This article reports on the results of a research study which investigated the perception of English speech sounds by Hong Kong Cantonese English as a second language speakers. A total of 40 university English majors participated in one categorial discrimination task and two second language (L2) minimal pair identification tasks, which aimed at discerning the participants' perception of different English speech sounds. The results show that certain English speech sounds trigger more perception problems than others, but perception problems do not necessarily correspond to documented production difficulties. It is argued that learners' preconception of word pronunciations may be a contributing factor for their perception problems. The position of a sonorant consonant may also play a role in perception, but positional effects do not seem to be as significant in the perception of obstruents as in that of sonorant consonants. It is suggested that remedial teaching on both perception and production should go hand in hand to enhance learners' L2 phonology acquisition. Adapted from the source document