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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Khmer Phonetics & Phonology: Theoretical Implications For Esl Instruction, Alex Donley Apr 2020

Khmer Phonetics & Phonology: Theoretical Implications For Esl Instruction, Alex Donley

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis develops an approach to English teaching for Khmer-speaking students that centers on Khmer phonetics and phonology. Cambodia has a strong demand for English instruction, but consistently underperforms next to other nations in terms of proficiency. A significant reason for Cambodia’s skill gap is the lack of research into linguistic hurdles Khmer speakers face when learning English. This paper aims to bridge Khmer and English with an understanding of the speech systems that both languages use before turning to the unique challenges Khmer speakers must overcome based on the tenets of L1 Transfer Theory. It closes by outlining strategies …


Language Transfer Between English And German: A Phonetics-Based Study Of Interactions Between Speakers' Native And Second-Language Vowel Systems, Emelia Bensonmeyer Jan 2020

Language Transfer Between English And German: A Phonetics-Based Study Of Interactions Between Speakers' Native And Second-Language Vowel Systems, Emelia Bensonmeyer

Scripps Senior Theses

The present study addresses language contact processes in which the phonetic systems of the languages that bilinguals speak interact. Specifically, language transfer with respect to English and German was examined, focusing on native German speakers (L1) who learned English as a second language (L2). It employed as its central method an analysis of their vowel systems, both language-specifically and cross-linguistically. Extralinguistic variables were also considered, ranging from speakers’ age of acquisition (AOA) of English to their length of residence in an English-speaking environment to their consideration of home. Results indicated statistically significant differences between speakers’ production of /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ …


The Interaction Of Domain-Initial Effects With Lexical Stress: Acoustic Data From English, Spanish, And Portuguese, Ricardo F. Napoleão De Souza Jun 2019

The Interaction Of Domain-Initial Effects With Lexical Stress: Acoustic Data From English, Spanish, And Portuguese, Ricardo F. Napoleão De Souza

Linguistics ETDs

The phonetic implementation of domain-initial boundaries has gained considerable attention in the literature. However, most studies of the phenomenon have investigated small samples of articulatory data in which target syllables were lexically prominent and/or phrasally accented, introducing important potential confounds. This dissertation tackles these issues by examining how domain-initial effects operate on the acoustic properties of fully unstressed word-initial CV syllables in phrasally unaccented words. Similar materials were designed for a reading task in which 14 speakers of English, Spanish and Portuguese, languages that differ in how lexical prominence affects segmental makeup, took part. Results from the acoustic analyses show …


Examining The Extent Of Anticipatory Coronal Coarticulation: A Long-Term Average Spectrum Analysis, Alexei Kochetov, Christopher Neufeld Jun 2013

Examining The Extent Of Anticipatory Coronal Coarticulation: A Long-Term Average Spectrum Analysis, Alexei Kochetov, Christopher Neufeld

Alexei Kochetov

Phonetic studies of English liquids /r/ and /l/ have shown these consonants can exert strong coarticulatory effects on both adjacent and non-adjacent vowels. The current study investigated local and long-range effects of coronals /l/, /r/, and /d/ in Canadian English. Fourteen speakers were recorded reading the sentences 'We thought it might be a ram/lamb/dam/ham'. Formants F1-F3 and long-term average spectra (LTAS) of 5 vowels preceding the target consonants were calculated and compared to baseline values. The results revealed significant differences between the coronal consonants and the control (/h/) in up to 4 preceding syllables. Formant differences in non-adjacent syllables were …


Vot Drift In Three Generations Of Heritage Language Speakers In Toronto, Melania Hrycyna, Natalia Lapinskaya, Alexei Kochetov, Naomi Nagy Nov 2011

Vot Drift In Three Generations Of Heritage Language Speakers In Toronto, Melania Hrycyna, Natalia Lapinskaya, Alexei Kochetov, Naomi Nagy

Alexei Kochetov

No abstract provided.


Alveolar-To-Rhotic Coarticulation In North American English: A Preliminary Epg Study, Alexei Kochetov Jan 2011

Alveolar-To-Rhotic Coarticulation In North American English: A Preliminary Epg Study, Alexei Kochetov

Alexei Kochetov

This paper reports results of an electropalatographic (EPG) study of alveolar-torhotic coarticulation in North American English. Data with alveolars /d/ and /n/ occurring in various rhotic contexts were collected from a single female speaker. The results showed a continuum of backing of the primary constriction from alveolar to post-alveolar or retroflex as a function of the absence or presence of one or more rhotic segments in the word and their proximity to the alveolar. These findings are interpreted as coarticulation of alveolars to the more constrained rhotic approximant and rhotacized vowels, and to different degrees of overlap of alveolar and …


Phonological Facilitation Through Translation In A Bilingual Picture-Naming Task, Paul Amrhein, Aimee Knupsky Oct 2007

Phonological Facilitation Through Translation In A Bilingual Picture-Naming Task, Paul Amrhein, Aimee Knupsky

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We present a critical examination of phonological effects in a picture-word interference task. Using a methodology minimizing stimulus repetition, English/Spanish and Spanish/English bilinguals named pictures in either L1 or L2 (blocked contexts) or in both (mixed contexts) while ignoring word distractors in L1 or L2. Distractors were either phonologically related to the picture name (direct; FISH–fist), or related through translation to the picture name (TT; LEG–milk–leche), or they were unrelated (bear–peach). Results demonstrate robust activation of phonological representations by translation equivalents of word distractors. Although both direct and TT distractors facilitated naming, TT facilitation was more consistent in L2 naming …