Context effects and trading relations in perception of the [d]‐[q] distinction: The role of specific language experience

Abstract

The category boundary along a [da]‐[ga] continuum can be influenced by the presence of a preceding consonant: [s] or [∫] [V. A. Mann and B. H. Repp, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 69, 548–558 (1981)], [l] or [r] [V, A. Mann, Percept. Psychophys. 28, 407–412 (1980)]. The influences include: (1) Trading relations due to whether the fricative or liquid was originally produced before [d] or [g], and (2) context effects due to the place of articulation of the fricative or liquid. They are taken as the reflection of listeners' sensitivity to the acoustic consequences of coarticulation during speech production. The present study repeated Mann and Repp's and Mann's studies, but compared native speakers of English with native speakers of Japanese. The materials were FCV and VCCV hybrid stimuli, where F = natural [s] or [∫], VC = natural [al] or [ar], and CV = stimuli along a synthetic [da]‐[ga] continuum. Liteners first labeled the CVs, and later labeled the fricatives and VC syllables. Despite the fact that Japanese, unlike...