Perceptual salience and acoustic distance: Evidence from Tagalog nasal-place contrasts

Abstract

The acoustics and perception of three Tagalog (Austronesian) nasal-onset places of articulation ([ma], [na], and [nga]) are investigated. In experiment 1, native speakers of Tagalog (n=13) were presented with the [ma]-[nga] and [na]-[nga] contrasts (as recorded by a native speaker of Tagalog) in an AX task. As expected, listeners performed according to Tagalog phonology, with successful discrimination of both contrasts (>90% correct). Listener performance on the [na]-[nga] contrast, however, was significantly lower than performance on [ma]-[na]. In a second experiment, designed to assess the perceptual salience of the [na]-[nga] contrast relative to the [ma]-[na] contrast, native-Tagalog listeners were tested (in an AX task) with the contrasts in signal-dependent (though uncorrelated) noise. Findings are discussed in light of acoustic measurements of multiple repetitions of [ma], [na] and [nga] as produced by three speakers of Tagalog. These acoustic results show that, in F2×F3 space (measured at the NV juncture), [na] is more similar to [nga] than it is to [ma]. In addition, the acoustic and perceptual findings will be interpreted relative to recent findings in the development of nasal-place perception in infancy. [ng=velar nasal.]