Native phonology shapes the perception of non-native voicing contrasts: an experimental study
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2026 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | This study investigates how speakers of languages with different laryngeal-contrast systems perceive voicing distinctions. To this end, we selected Czech (CZ) and Taiwanese Mandarin (TM) as representative languages with distinct laryngeal properties. In CZ, obstruents are organized into voiced-voiceless pairs such as [p] vs. [b] in [p]uk ‘crease’ vs. [b]uk ‘beech’ . In contrast, TM features an aspirated-unaspirated contrast (e.g. [p] vs. [p?] in [p]ei ‘cup’ vs. [p?]ei ‘embryo’) rather than a voicing contrast. As voicing is not part of TM’s phonological system, this absence is expected to present difficulties for TM speakers perceiving CZ voiced-voiceless distinctions, as suggested by previous research . |
| Related projects: |