Integration of Perceptual Similarity With Faithful Mapping of Phonological Contrast in Loanword Adaptation: Mandarin Chinese Adaptation of English Stops

Abstract

In loanword phonology, perceptual similarity and faithful mapping of phonological contrast are two main factors which influence loanword adaptation. Previous studies observe that English phonological voicing contrast is mapped to Mandarin Chinese (hereafter, Mandarin) phonological aspiration contrast, indicating faithful mapping of phonological contrast. Nevertheless, the role of perceptual similarity in adaptation of English stops to Mandarin has not been fully explored. The current study investigates the influence of perceptual similarity on loanword adaptation by examining how English voiced and voiceless stops are adapted in Mandarin Chinese using a data set of 1427 novel Mandarin loanwords from English. The results show consistent adaptation of English voiced stops as Mandarin unaspirated stops and English aspirated voiceless stops as Mandarin aspirated ones, while inconsistent adaptation patterns are found for the English unaspirated voiceless stops. In particular, English post-/s/ unaspirated voiceless stops which occupy a similar voice onset time (VOT) region to Mandarin unaspirated stops are adapted as Mandarin unaspirated ones, whereas the rest are mapped to aspirated stops in Mandarin. The overall adaptation patterns provide partial support to faithful mapping of phonological contrast and provide robust evidence for an integration of perceptual similarity with faithful mapping of phonological contrast in loanword adaptation.