Perception Of Fricatives Research Articles

Contextual effects on the perception of English interdental fricatives / θ / by Mandarin Chinese learners

Mandarin Chinese lacks interdental fricatives, causing Mandarin Chinese learners to struggle in perceiving these sounds in English. This study explores how word position and vocalic context affect the perception of /θ/ by Mandarin Chinese learners. We test Mandarin Chinese learners and native English speakers using words containing the sound /θ/ in word-initial, medial, and final positions (e.g., think, nothing, bath), and in different vocalic contexts (e.g., think vs. thank). Participants complete a forced-choice identification task, listening to the target words in a carrier sentence and selecting the perceived word from two options. We record reaction time and accuracy for statistical analysis. We use generalized additive mixed modeling for reaction time and logistic mixed-effects modeling for response accuracy. We expect Mandarin Chinese learners to show longer reaction times and higher accuracy in perceiving /θ/ in the word-initial position than in media and final positions. Additionally, we anticipate that Mandarin Chinese learners perceive /θ/ more accurately when it is followed or preceded by a high vowel rather than a non-high vowel. Understanding these perception differences and contextual influences can inform more effective language teaching strategies, particularly in pronunciation training for Mandarin Chinese learners.

Effect of frequency compression on fricative perception between normal-hearing English and Mandarin listeners.

High-frequency speech information is susceptible to inaccurate perception in even mild to moderate forms of hearing loss. Some hearing aids employ frequency-lowering methods such as nonlinear frequency compression (NFC) to help hearing-impaired individuals access high-frequency speech information in more accessible lower-frequency regions. As such techniques cause significant spectral distortion, tests such as the S-Sh Confusion Test help optimize NFC settings to provide high-frequency audibility with the least distortion. Such tests have been traditionally based on speech contrasts pertinent to English. Here, the effects of NFC processing on fricative perception between English and Mandarin listeners are assessed. Small but significant differences in fricative discrimination were observed between the groups. The study demonstrates possible need for language-specific clinical fitting procedures for NFC.

Exploring the need for language-specific hearing aid signal processing

Speech phonemes in higher frequencies have varying acoustic characteristics in different languages. For example, /s/ and /ʃ/, fricatives commonly used in English, have spectral peaks at higher frequencies than /ʂ/ and /x/, fricatives commonly used in Mandarin. Data on the relationship between the acoustic characteristics of a listener’s native language and their hearing aid signal prescription requirements could provide important clinical guidance. Non-linear frequency compression is a digital signal processing tool that compresses auditory information above a pre-determined cutoff frequency. In hearing aids, this compression is applied with the intention of making higher-frequency speech sounds more audible to listeners with high-frequency hearing loss. Here, we studied the effect of different frequency compression settings on fricative perception between Mandarin and English listeners. Normal-hearing participants between age 18 to 50 years were presented with fricative identification and fricative discrimination tasks under various frequency compression settings. Participants were grouped between those with exclusive English language background birth to 6 years to those with exclusive Mandarin language background during the same period. Results display different responses for presented phonemes and frequency compression settings, suggesting that language specificity could be considered for hearing aid signal prescription.

The perception-production link in two types of cross-language mismatches

Previous data on the perception-production link have allowed for a variety of analyses, from the traditional straight-forward correlation between the two competencies (Flege 1995) to more nuanced interpretations of the data (Shultz et al. 2012). Where the traditional approach suggests that better perception is linked to better production, recent work challenges this conclusion and reveals a complex relationship. Here, we compare native French speakers' perception and production of English diphthongs (/a⌢ʊ/, /e⌢ɪ/ and /a⌢ɪ/) and interdental fricatives (/θ/ and /ð/). These specific segments were chosen as they are absent from the French phonological system, they show identifiable realizations, and they behave differently from one another. The competence in perception and production of 21 native hexagonal French speakers were collected through a repetition task and an AXB matching task. Consistent with Flege (1995), we show that for any given segment, greater perception accuracy predicts greater production accuracy. However, at the speaker level, the relationship between the two competences is a complex one, as the link between perception and production is not apparent in our data. These results would confirm the traditional approach at the segment level, but individual variation might prevents us from seeing it at the speaker level.

Perception and production of English fricatives by Chinese learners of English: Error patterns and perception-production relationship*

Perception and production of English fricatives by Chinese learners of English: Error patterns and perception-production relationship*

화자의 방언 배경에 대한 사전 정보가 마찰음의 지각에 미치는 영향 연구

사람들은 흔히 경상 화자가 /ㅅ/-/ㅆ/을 변별해서 발음하지 못한다고 믿는다. 본 연구에서는 서울 화자와 대구 화자가 산출한 마찰음으로 자연 발화 자극과 기식 구간을 조절한 자극을 만들어 청자들에게 들려준 후, 이를 식별하고 발음을 평가하는 과제를 진행했다. 청자의 반은 화자가 모두 서울 화자라는 정보가, 나머지 반은 화자가 모두 경상 화자라는 정보가 주어졌다. 그 결과, 조작되지 않은 자연 자극 지각에서는 화자의 실제 방언이나 화자에 대해 받은 방언 정보가 아무 영향을 미치지 않았으나, 기식 구간을 조절한 자극에서는 차이가 있었다. 기식 구간이 /ㅅ/과 /ㅆ/ 사이에 있었을 경우, 화자가 경상 화자라는 정보를 받았을 때 자극을 /ㅆ/으로 들을 가능성이 더 높았다. 이러한 결과는 화자에 대한 정보가 마찰음 지각에 영향을 미칠 수 있다는 점과 음운 변이에 대한 기술은 음향학적 측정으로 최대한 보완해야 한다는 점을 시사한다.

Perception of English Fricatives (/v/, /3/) by Undergraduate Kuwaiti Arabic Learners

Perception of English Fricatives (/v/, /3/) by Undergraduate Kuwaiti Arabic Learners

영어 원어민과 한국어 영어학습자의 마찰 겹자음 실현 및 인지양상: 형태적 환경을 중심으로

영어 원어민과 한국어 영어학습자의 마찰 겹자음 실현 및 인지양상: 형태적 환경을 중심으로

Psychoacoustic evaluation of acoustic features distortion in fricative consonant of speech

The present study investigated the perceptual discrimination between typical (normal) acoustic features duration and intensity in word-initial fricative consonant /ʃ/ and atypical duration (shortened or lengthened) and intensity (weak or strong). Perceptual task distortion contrast was performed in each dimension, duration and intensity, as well as in two-dimensional interaction. Stimulus was the word /ʃuma/ with fricative /ʃ/ in the initial position. Duration and intensity of /ʃ/ were synthesized from typicaly pronounced stimuli in 16-step continuum from 135 ms to 300 ms and from −18 dB to +4.5 dB, respectively. Eight speech-language pathologies (SLPs) performed perceptual task distortion contrast in these two dimensions. Results are presented in the form of identification functions. First experiment tested two-choice decision and three-choice decision tasks in identification of distortion in time domain (shortened/normal/lengthened frictive), second experiment analyzed distortion in intensity domain (weak/normal/strong frictive), third experiment examined mutual interaction of distortion in duration and intensity, and forth experiment analyzed two-dimensional perception of simultaneous distortion in both domains, time and intensity. The results indicate regions of typical and atypical values for duration and intensity of fricative /ʃ/, in Serbian language, and also indicate that distortion in intensity domain does not influence perception of distortion in time domain, except in the case of weak friction. In two-dimensional perception of normal fricative /ʃ/, the dimension duration has higher perceptual significance over dimension intensity, whereas in perception of distorted fricative the dimension intensity has higher perceptual significance over dimension duration. In two-dimensional perception SLPs reported that they selectively recognize at first the dominant distortion and then another distortion.

Development of fricative production in French-speaking school-aged children using cochlear implants and children with normal hearing

In the course of productive phonological development, fricatives are among the last speech sounds to emerge and to be mastered by children, probably because of the high degree of articulatory precision they require or because of difficulties with their perception. Children with cochlear implants (CI) face additional difficulties with fricative perception, since high spectral frequency components are shown to be especially difficult to perceive with a cochlear implant. Studying fricative production in children with CIs allows to study how the partial transmission of speech sounds by cochlear implants influences children’s speech production, and therefore to explore how perceptual abilities influence the late stages of phonological development.This acoustic study focuses on fricative production at three places of articulation (i.e., /f/, /s/ and /ʃ/), comparing productions by two groups of children (20 children with normal hearing (NH) vs. 13 children with CIs, all aged 5;7 to 10;7 years), and taking into account their consistency in coarticulation and the stability of their production across two different tasks (word-repetition and picture-naming). Statistical analyses were carried out by means of linear mixed-effect models.The results show that while both groups produce /ʃ/ with similar acoustic characteristics, between-group differences are found for /f/ and /s/. Furthermore, effects of consonant-vowel coarticulation are found for children with NH, and are absent for children with CIs. Effects of chronological age are only found for children with CIs (production in older children with CIs nearing that of children with NH).Our study shows that the development of fricative production of five- to 11-year-old children with CIs is affected by the children’s hearing abilities and late access to auditory information. These limitations however do not prevent the children from eventually reaching a consistency similar to that of children with NH, as suggested by the fact that their production is still evolving during that age span. The results also show that the acquisition of coarticulation strategies can be impeded by degraded or delayed access to audio.

Multi-modal cross-linguistic perception of fricatives in clear speech.

Research shows that acoustic modifications in clearly enunciated fricative consonants (relative to the plain, conversational productions) facilitate auditory fricative perception, particularly for auditorily salient sibilant fricatives and for native perception. However, clear-speech effects on visual fricative perception have received less attention. A comparison of auditory and visual (facial) clear-fricative perception is particularly interesting since sibilant fricatives in English are more auditorily salient while non-sibilants are more visually salient. This study thus examines clear-speech effects on multi-modal perception of English sibilant and non-sibilant fricatives. Native English perceivers and non-native (Mandarin, Korean) perceivers with different fricative inventories in their native languages (L1s) identified clear and conversational fricative-vowel syllables in audio-only, visual-only, and audio-visual (AV) modes. The results reveal an overall positive clear-speech effect when visual information is involved. Considering the factor of AV saliency, clear speech benefits sibilants more in the auditory domain and non-sibilants more in the visual domain. With respect to language background, non-native (Mandarin and Korean) perceivers benefit from visual as well as auditory information, even for fricatives non-existent in their respective L1s, but the patterns of clear-speech gains are affected by the relative AV weighting and "nativeness" of the fricatives. These findings are discussed in terms of how saliency-enhancing and category-distinctive cues of speech sounds are adopted in AV perception to improve intelligibility.

Acoustic\u2013phonetic and auditory mechanisms of adaptation in the perception of sibilant fricatives

Listeners are highly proficient at adapting to contextual variation when perceiving speech. In the present study, we examined the effects of brief speech and nonspeech contexts on the perception of sibilant fricatives. We explored three theoretically motivated accounts of contextual adaptation, based on phonetic cue calibration, phonetic covariation, and auditory contrast. Under the cue calibration account, listeners adapt by estimating a talker-specific average for each phonetic cue or dimension; under the cue covariation account, listeners adapt by exploiting consistencies in how the realization of speech sounds varies across talkers; under the auditory contrast account, adaptation results from (partial) masking of spectral components that are shared by adjacent stimuli. The spectral center of gravity, a phonetic cue to fricative identity, was manipulated for several types of context sound: /z/-initial syllables, /v/-initial syllables, and white noise matched in long-term average spectrum (LTAS) to the /z/-initial stimuli. Listeners’ perception of the /s/–/ʃ/ contrast was significantly influenced by /z/-initial syllables and LTAS-matched white noise stimuli, but not by /v/-initial syllables. No significant difference in adaptation was observed between exposure to /z/-initial syllables and matched white noise stimuli, and speech did not have a considerable advantage over noise when the two were presented consecutively within a context. The pattern of findings is most consistent with the auditory contrast account of short-term perceptual adaptation. The cue covariation account makes accurate predictions for speech contexts, but not for nonspeech contexts or for the absence of a speech-versus-nonspeech difference.

A Study on Acoustic Characteristics and Korean EFL Learners’ Perception of English Voiceless Fricatives

A Study on Acoustic Characteristics and Korean EFL Learners’ Perception of English Voiceless Fricatives

L2 습득이론에 따른 영어 마찰음에 대한 한국 어린이 영어학습자의 인지 능력

In this study, we investigate how L2 acquisition theories can successfully account for the relative difficulties in the perception of English fricatives by Korean young learners. Regarding the acquisition of L2 phonemes, the previous studies can be divided into two main approaches: (1) phoneme-based analysis which is mainly concerned with Loanword Phonology and Perceptual Assimilation Model vs. (2) feature-based analysis. Noticing that these analyses make different predictions on the acquisition of L2 sounds, we conducted AX discrimination task and 4I-oddity task to find which types of English fricatives (voicing, place, and manner of articulation) Korean young learners have difficulties in perceiving. 30 Korean elementary school students participated in the tasks and 27 minimal pairs including word-initial English fricatives were employed. Crucial to the analysis of the experimental results is that with one particular L2 acquisition theory it is impossible to explain why Korean learners can or cannot perceive English fricatives distinctively. That is, Korean young learners’ perceptibility of English fricatives is attributed to both phonemic differences and feature differences between L1 and L2. Furthermore, in some cases, the fact that Korean young learners fail to discriminate certain pairs of English fricatives should be better accounted for by considering phonetic characteristics of L1 and L2 fricatives.

Efeitos das relações fonológicas sobre a percepção das fricativas sibilantes não-vozeadas do português brasileiro

Este artigo investiga os efeitos das relações fonológicas sobre a percepção das fricativas sibilantes não-vozeadas [s] e [?] em ataque e coda silábica na variedade de português brasileiro falada em Florianópolis/SC. Em consonância com Boomershine et al., espera-se que as relações de contraste e de não-contraste afetem a percepção das fricativas alveolar e palato-alveolar de modo que as referidas categorias fonéticas sejam percebidas como relativamente mais distintas em ataque silábico (relação fonêmica) do que em coda (relação alofônica). A fim de verificar tal hipótese, testes de classificação por similaridade (processamento linguístico) e de discriminação acelerada (processamento psicoacústico) foram aplicados entre 30 falantes/ouvintes florianopolitanos. Os resultados obtidos pelo teste de processamento linguístico sugerem que as relações fonológicas de fato interferem na percepção das fricativas sibilantes pelos falantes/ouvintes florianopolitanos, pois as fricativas alveolar e palato-alveolar foram percebidas como mais distintas em ataque do que em coda. Por outro lado, os resultados do teste de processamento psicoacústico apontaram resultados opostos, a saber, as fricativas sibilantes se mostraram perceptualmente mais distintas em coda do que em ataque. Os resultados divergentes obtidos pelos dois testes indicam que as relações fonológicas não necessariamente condicionam a percepção das fricativas sibilantes em português. Por fim, argumenta-se que a percepção das fricativas sibilantes se dá em termos de sílabas FV (fricativa–vogal) e VF (vogal-fricativa) e que ocorre em estágios distintos de processamento tal como previsto pela Teoria Lógica-Difusa de percepção da fala.

Perception of the glottal fricative /h/ in onset position by Brazilian learners of English as a foreign language

In this study, we departed from the assumption that Brazilian Portuguese (BP) speakers of English have the tendency to mispronounce the English retroflex /?/ as the glottal fricative /h/. With the use of a Picture Elicitation L1 Production Task, a Background Questionnaire and an L2 Transcription Perception Task, the following was investigated: (1) Participants’ L1 rhotic production variations in onset position, and possible Cross Linguistic Influence of these productions in their perception of the English glottal fricative /h/; and (2) Participants’ experience with the TL and its correlation with their perception of the English glottal fricative /h/. 13 learners participated in the pilot study and 15 in the experiment. All of them were BP learners of English in different learning levels, with ages ranging from 26 to 42 years old. The data obtained revealed that all of them produced L1 rhotics as glottal fricatives, and more than 70% of them transcribed the words beginning with <h> using <r>. Moreover, results showed that there is a positive correlation between experience with the L2 and correct perception of TL glottal fricative as a rhotic in onset position.

Gender normalization in fricative perception: Generational differences

Listeners identify fricatives ambiguous between /s/ and /ʃ/ differently depending on whether they believe that the talker is a woman or a man (Strand & Johnson, 1996; Munson, 2011; Winn, Rhone, Chatterjee, & Idsardi, 2013). Recently, Munson and Logerquist (2017, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 141, 3982) examined the influence of imputed talker gender on fricative perception across four experimental conditions in a relatively large group (n = 99) of young adults. Surprisingly, Munson and Logerquist were unable to replicate the original finding, despite using stimuli that resembled those from earlier studies very closely. In the current study, we test the hypothesis that Munson and Logerquist's failure to find an effect of imputed gender was because of generational changes in the perception of gender in speech. We do this by comparing the performance of younger, college-aged listeners in Munson and Logerquist to the performance of a new cohort of listeners aged 33–48. Data collection for the latter cohort is ongoing. A finding that these listeners show effects of gender on fricative identification similar to those in previous studies will support the idea that Munson and Logerquist's failure to replicate this finding is due to generational changes in the perception of gender through speech.

Mandarin learners' ESL fricatives

Although English interdentals have been much studied in L2 acquisition, other English fricatives have not received comparable attention. The assumption is that the other fricatives, e.g., [s] which often have L1 counterparts do not pose a problem for ESL learners. However, it is now well understood that similarity between L1 and L2 counterparts may be more problematic in perpetuating an L2 accent. To gain insights into the issue, Mandarin speakers’ production of both ESL and native fricatives and their perception of the ESL fricatives is collected and analyzed. The results show that the lack of a problem is true for perception which shows ceiling performance. Production-wise, all ESL voiceless fricatives, not just [θ], are problematic for the Mandarin speakers, judged by a native speaker and measured acoustically on spectral moments and peak. Typically, these fricatives are not on target, but are produced more or less in the L1 fashion. A surprise finding is also made that an L1 counter part may not be the choice of a match; e.g., English [s] which has a close Mandarin counterpart is found replaced with [θ] or [ʃ] by some participants. The paper also discusses the production-perception relation over the findings on the fricatives.

Do children understand adults better or themselves? A perceptual study of Polish /s, ʂ, ɕ/

Developmental studies of speech perception have typically used adult productions or synthetic speech as stimuli. Little is known about how children perceive their own speech, however. Further, few studies of sibilant fricative perception have explored complex sibilant inventories. This work assessed perception of the sibilants /s, ʂ, ɕ/ in 32 monolingual native speakers of Polish, 3–8 years of age. Children participated in a picture-naming task to identify minimal or near-minimal triplets with the fricatives in initial and medial position, e.g., [kasa] “cash point”, [kaʂa] “groats”, [kaɕa] “Cathe, prop.name.” They subsequently labeled their own word productions, and the words as produced by an adult. Children’s labeling was generally quite accurate for the adult speaker, with the lowest accuracy rating of ca. 75% seen in the youngest listeners. When labeling themselves, the children were less accurate, with average performance at about 50% in children younger than 55 months. Across all ages, reaction times decreased in the order /ʂ/ > /s/ > ɕ/. Future work will obtain perceptual judgments of the children’s productions from other listeners and obtain acoustic measures of the fricatives to explore perception-production relationships.Developmental studies of speech perception have typically used adult productions or synthetic speech as stimuli. Little is known about how children perceive their own speech, however. Further, few studies of sibilant fricative perception have explored complex sibilant inventories. This work assessed perception of the sibilants /s, ʂ, ɕ/ in 32 monolingual native speakers of Polish, 3–8 years of age. Children participated in a picture-naming task to identify minimal or near-minimal triplets with the fricatives in initial and medial position, e.g., [kasa] “cash point”, [kaʂa] “groats”, [kaɕa] “Cathe, prop.name.” They subsequently labeled their own word productions, and the words as produced by an adult. Children’s labeling was generally quite accurate for the adult speaker, with the lowest accuracy rating of ca. 75% seen in the youngest listeners. When labeling themselves, the children were less accurate, with average performance at about 50% in children younger than 55 months. Across all ages, reaction time...

Development of fricative sound perception in Korean infants: The role of language experience and infants’ initial sensitivity

In this paper, we report data on the development of Korean infants’ perception of a rare fricative phoneme distinction. Korean fricative consonants have received much interest in the linguistic community due to the language’s distinct categorization of sounds. Unlike many fricative contrasts utilized in most of the world’s languages, Korean fricatives (/s*/-/s/) are all voiceless. Moreover, compared with other sound categories, fricatives have received very little attention in the speech perception development field and no studies thus far have examined Korean infants’ development of native phonology in this domain. Using a visual habituation paradigm, we tested 4‒6-month-old and 7‒9-month-old Korean infants on their abilities to discriminate the Korean fricative pair in the [a] vowel context, /s*a/-/sa/, which can be distinguished based on acoustic cues, such as the durations of aspiration and frication noise. Korean infants older than 7 months were able to reliably discriminate the fricative pair but younger infants did not show clear signs of such discrimination. These results add to the growing evidence that there are native sound contrasts infants cannot discriminate early on without a certain amount of language exposure, providing further data to help delineate the specific nature of early perceptual capacity.