Onset Clusters Research Articles

The Adaptation of French Consonant Clusters in Vietnamese Phonology: An OT Account

The phenomenon of phonological adaptation arises due to the segmental, phonotactic, supra-segmental, and morpho-phonological restrictions of the borrowing language. This paper specifically discusses the adaptation of French consonant clusters both in onset and coda positions when borrowed into Vietnamese in the framework of Optimality Theory. The primary objective of the current study is to examine how Vietnamese speakers select repair strategies such as epenthesis or deletion in modifying French words. The adaptation of foreign phonemes supports the role of the native language. In French loans adapted in Vietnamese, foreign segments not present in the native language, are completely banned. Phonotactic adaptations of illicit syllable structures showed that deletion is the favored option to avoid clusters in the coda position. Onset clusters, which are disallowed in native Vietnamese, are repaired either by the strategy of epenthesis or deletion. The constraint hierarchy for the Vietnamese loan phonology can be presented as follows: OK-σ >> IDENT-IO (µ) >> MAX-SON >> MAX-Licensed segment >> IDENT-F >> ALIGN-L/ ALIGN-R >> DEP-IO >> MAX-IO.

The relationship between phonotactic awareness and pronunciation in adult second language learners

Abstract: This study examined to what extent L1 Brazilian Portuguese (BP) EFL learners are aware of L2 phonotactics and whether there would be a relationship between L2 phonotactic awareness and L2 pronunciation accuracy. The language learners were tested regarding their awareness of L2 onset consonant clusters with a lexical decision task presenting nonword stimuli with legal and illegal onset clusters. L2 pronunciation was measured with a Foreign Accent Rating Task. The results showed that L1 BP participants showed a high awareness concerning L2 phonotactics, not differing from L1 English speakers, t(86)=.20, p =.83. Furthermore, high phonotactic awareness was found to be related to higher accuracy in L2 pronunciation (r= -.46, p <.001). The results suggest that phonotactics should be taught in foreign language classrooms since increasing learners’ awareness might be beneficial for the accuracy of their L2 pronunciation.

Speech rate effects in Russian onset clusters are modulated by frequency, but not auditory cue robustness

This study presents data on the durational and timing characteristics of Russian onset clusters and their change as a function of speaking rate. The focus is on Russian due to it being known to have relatively less consonant overlap compared to languages like English and due to its unusual range of consonant clusters. Using articulography, we investigate whether these characteristics have implications for the flexibility of clusters under speech rate changes. In particular we ask whether a cluster's signal modulation profile, taken as an index of auditory recoverability, predicts the degree to which the overlap pattern of a cluster changes with rate. Previous research suggests that stop+stop clusters may be less susceptible to rate change than other, auditorily more robust clusters within the same language. Moreover, even though frequency and phonotactic preference are usually closely aligned, Russian also allows us to probe frequency effects on cluster timing, since for our data these factors are dissociated to a certain degree. Results show that both duration and relative timing of the consonants in a cluster are subject to change. Speech rate effects do not scale uniformly throughout the cluster but are carried predominantly by the constriction formation duration of C2. Clusters show a decreasing rate effect from high to low frequency clusters. Grouping clusters according to their assumed perceptual robustness does not lead to a clear result. We discuss these findings in the context of models of durational control of speech production.

Parameter setting in the acquisition of consonant clusters by phonologically delayed children

ABSTRACTThe relationship between the acquisition of initial complex onset clusters, /s/-initial clusters, and non-initial clusters is much studied yet poorly understood. Pan and Snyder (2004), working within the Government Phonology (GP) framework, proposed that the production of the three types of consonant clusters requires the proper setting of three binary parameters [+/- Branching onset (BO), [+/-Branching rhyme (BR)] and [+/-Magic empty nucleus (MEN)]. Specifically, the production of onset clusters require [+BO], /s/-initial clusters require both [+BR] and [+MEN], and non-initial clusters require [+BR]. Two predictions follow: (1) The acquisition of /s/-initial clusters is independent of the acquisition of onset clusters, and (2) /s/-initial clusters should never be acquired prior to non-initial clusters, because the latter only require [+BR]. These predictions were borne out by data from twenty English-speaking children with phonological delay (mean age = 4;10). In support of prediction (1), seven children were able to produce onset clusters, but never produced /s/-initial clusters, and four children had the opposite pattern. Consistent with prediction (2), six children produced non-initial clusters but were unable to produce /s/-initial clusters. We conclude that a parametric approach is applicable to the acquisition of consonant clusters in children with phonological delay.

Near-unisons in Afro-Cuban Ensemble Drumming

Working with an original corpus of Afro-Cuban drumming recordings shared by Andrew McGraw, I examine the nature and extent of non-simultaneous attacks between ensemble players. Quantitative analyses of ~30,000 drum onset times in four- and five-player performances reveal that these non-simultaneities, or near-unisons, are widespread and often sizeable. Their frequency and magnitude depend on selection style, measurement method used, location of the analysis window within the bar cycle, and instruments involved. I show that near-unisons result (in part) from the layering of 'idiosyncratically' timed ostinatos, and that the effect can be achieved by layering not only different timing contours but also equivalent contours that are slightly displaced with respect to each other. I also show that near-unison configurations can be either consistent or variable, so that certain leader-follower associations remain stable from cycle to cycle while others vary more freely. Beyond pairwise associations, I explore rhythmic density via the notion of onset clusters: groups of closely spaced attacks produced by up to five different players.

Acquisition of English Onset Clusters by Chinese and Korean EFL Learners

This study accounts for the acquisition of English onset /s stop r/, /s stop/ and /stop r/ clusters by Chinese and Korean learners. Participants in this study include 10 low level and 10 high level Mandarin and Korean EFL learners each. The material includes 27 words of target clusters. The results show that Mandarin and Korean speakers tended to make more modification in the more marked tri-consonant clusters than the less marked bi-consonant clusters. In addition, high level subjects performed noticeably better than low level subjects in both groups. Korean and Mandarin speakers’ simplification strategies were different: Mandarin speakers inserted /u/ or /ə/ into the clusters, whereas Korean speakers preferred to replace one of the consonants (often /r/) with another consonant in tri-consonant clusters and /stop r/ clusters. Both Korean speakers and lower English proficiency Mandarin speakers mistakenly aspirated the voiceless stops /p, t, k/ in the onset /s stop/ clusters.

Perception of onset clusters by English and Korean listeners: Universal markedness and L2 phonotactic knowledge

Perception of onset clusters by English and Korean listeners: Universal markedness and L2 phonotactic knowledge

Interaction in Spanish–English bilinguals’ acquisition of syllable structure

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: This study investigated whether language-specific syllable type frequency and complexity exerted cross-language influence on Spanish–English bilingual children’s acquisition of syllable structure. Design/methodology/approach: We compared the accuracy of bilingual and monolingual children’s singleton coda and onset cluster productions from Spanish and English single words elicited via a picture-naming task. Task stimuli provided multiple opportunities to produce all possible singleton coda and onset cluster types in each language. Data and analysis: Ten typically developing Spanish–English bilingual children (ages: 2;01–4;08) completed the task in each language. Five Spanish and 12 English age-matched monolingual peers completed the same task in their respective languages. Data were analyzed using mixed effects logistic regression. Analyses compared bilinguals’ Spanish and English singleton coda and onset cluster production accuracy rates to those of monolinguals. Findings/conclusions: Our results indicate that interaction occurred in bilinguals’ syllable structure acquisition in both languages. Bilinguals’ acquisition of singleton codas was accelerated relative to monolinguals’ in Spanish. Furthermore, bilinguals’ acquisition of complex onsets was accelerated in both Spanish and English. Results did not suggest that bilinguals’ acquisition of English singleton codas was delayed. Originality: This is the first study to show that exposure to patterns of linguistic complexity specific to each language can accelerate bilinguals’ acquisition of phonological structure in both languages. Significance/implications: Our findings demonstrate that cross-language differences in complexity influence how interaction appears during bilinguals’ phonological acquisition, and suggest further investigation regarding the influence of frequency.

Nine-month-olds use frequency of onset clusters to segment novel words

Before their first birthday, infants have started to identify and use information about their native language, such as frequent words, transitional probabilities, and co-occurrence of segments (phonotactics), to identify viable word boundaries. These cues can then be used to segment new words from running speech. We explored whether infants are capable of detecting a novel word form using the frequency of occurrence of the onset alone to further characterize the role of phonotactics in speech segmentation. Experiment 1 shows that English-learning 9-month-olds can successfully segment a word from natural speech if the onset is legal in English (i.e., pleet) but not if the onset is illegal (i.e., tleet). Experiment 2 shows that English-learning 9-month-olds are successful at word segmentation when presented with two onset clusters that vary in statistical frequency. Infants familiarized to a high-frequency onset (i.e., trom) were successful at segmenting the target word embedded in speech, but those familiarized to the low-frequency onset (i.e., drom) were unsuccessful. Together, these results show that infants use statistical information from the speech input and that low levels of exposure to onset phonotactics alone might not be sufficient in identifying word boundaries.

Consonantal timing in Eastern Armenian

Eastern Armenian is an under-documented language, particularly in the field of phonetics. The language treats onset and coda consonant clusters asymmetrically, breaking up onset clusters with a vowel, but not coda clusters. This study focuses on consonantal timing in word-initial and word-final consonant sequences in Armenian. Five speakers were recorded reading 50 pairs of words with representative consonant clusters and equivalent words without clusters. Results indicate that singleton consonants behave differently than complex consonants depending on their location within a word. Namely, the vowel-adjacent consonant in a complex coda is longer in duration than an equivalent singleton consonant, whereas in onsets the duration of consonants is stable regardless of whether or not there is a preceding consonant. This corresponds to a greater degree of overlap in codas than in onsets. This asymmetrical treatment is motivated by the need to preserve phonetic cues for distinguishing consonants. The 30-consonant inventory is greatly limited by neutralizations in coda position, but all consonantal contrasts are maintained in onset clusters. Since there are more consonants to be distinguished in onset position, stronger cues are required to identify them and so less overlap is tolerated.

Language dominance as a factor in loanword phonology

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of language dominance in loanword phonology. It is investigated how onset clusters in loanwords are integrated into Turkish by two groups: English-Turkish bilinguals in Turkey and Swedish-Turkish bilinguals in Sweden. It is hypothesised that the bilinguals in Sweden will display significantly higher rates of cluster adoption because Turkish is not the dominant language there. The data were collected through an oral loanword elicitation task, a text recitation task in the second languages and a questionnaire on language proficiency and use. The study had 53 participants (24 in Turkey and 29 in Sweden). The material consisted of 29 loanwords from English and French, and of 50 structurally comparable words in the bilinguals’ second languages. The data were analysed auditively by the author and subjected to an interrater reliability test. The results confirmed the hypothesis as the bilinguals in Sweden displayed significantly higher cluster adoption rates. The difference between the groups’ medians was 36.5 percentage points. Furthermore, it was shown that in individual speakers the combination of accurate second-language pronunciation, and clearly higher proficiency in the second language (corresponding to the donor language) compared to the L1 (i.e. the recipient language) guaranteed very high cluster adoption rates. This paper provides the first rigorous quantitative proof for the theoretical assumption that accurate pronunciation is not sufficient for structural adoption in loanword phonology but needs to be complemented with sociolinguistic variables. Furthermore, it demonstrates in greater detail than before how societal and individual dominance are connected and through which channels they impact loanword integration. Self-reported relative proficiency in the donor language was shown to be a powerful predictor of the sociolinguistic incentive to adopt and could therefore be used as a quick and reliable alternative to elaborate and time-consuming attitude investigations in loanword phonology.

Use of acoustic cues in the perception of complex syllable structure

This study examines second/foreign language learners’ (L2ers’) use of acoustic cues in the perception of syllable structure (onset clusters) that does not exist in the native language (L1, here, Korean). It investigates whether the target-like perception of syllable structure is facilitated by VOT ([stɪn] vs [sətɪn]) and partial devoicing of the liquid ([plim] vs [pəlim]) as compared to when either cue is absent ([blint] vs [bəlint]). This study also examined whether production errors can be predicted by perception errors. Twelve Korean-speaking English L2ers and 12 native English speakers completed AXB and production tasks in which they listened to and produced nonce words in the above three conditions. The AXB results showed significant effects of L1 and condition, but no interaction between the two. Participants were most accurate on the condition with VOT (English: 98%, Korean: 85%), followed by partial devoicing of the liquid (English: 96%, Korean: 79%) and without either cue (English: 94%, Korean: 74%). L2ers’ perception and production patterned alike, but no correlation was found between the two. These findings suggest that acoustic cues like VOT and partial devoicing of the liquid facilitate L2ers’ perception of new syllable structure, but do not play a direct role in its production.

Investigation into Korean EFL Learners’ Acquisition of English /s/ + Consonant Onset Clusters

This paper investigated the phonological acquisition of English /s/ + consonant onset clusters by Korean learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) who varied in their levels of proficiency. The data were collected from twenty eighth-graders in a Korean secondary school, who were divided into two groups according to their proficiency: low- and high-achievement. The major findings were: 1) the high-achievement group did not use a vowel epenthesis strategy in the articulation of the /s/ + consonant onset cluster, unlike the low-achievement group; 2) the duration of /s/ pronunciation was longer in the high-achievement group, as follows: /s/ + stop + liquid, /s/ + stop, /s/ + liquid; 3) the low-achievement group’s duration of oral closure was longer than was that of the high-achievement group, as follows: /s/ + stop + liquid, s/ + stop, and 4) with regard to how /s/ + consonant onset clusters are perceived by native English speakers, /s/ + stop + liquid was related more significantly to the learners’ level of proficiency than were the biliteral consonant onset clusters. Among biliteral onsets, /s/ + stop and /s/ + liquid clusters differed significantly between the groups, while the /s/ + nasal cluster did not. Keywords: English /s/ + consonant onset clusters, L1 transfer, the sonority sequencing principle, syllable structure, L2 phonological acquisition

Native and non-native listeners’ sensitivity to English onset restrictions and universal onset markedness

AbstractLanguage-specific phonotactic restrictions modulate the perception of L1 and L2 sound structures. However, sonority-driven onset markedness is also known to affect listeners’ perception of onset clusters; onsets of large sonority distances elicit more accurate perception than those of small sonority distances (e.g.,

Evaluation of the risk of venous thromboembolism after quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccination among US females

After the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV4) in 2006, reports suggesting a possible association with venous thromboembolism (VTE) emerged from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and the Vaccine Safety Datalink. Our objective was to determine whether HPV4 increased VTE risk.The subjects were 9−26-year-old female members of five data partners in the FDA's Mini-Sentinel pilot project receiving HPV4 during 2006−2013. The outcome was radiologically confirmed first-ever VTE among potential cases identified by diagnosis codes in administrative data during Days 1−77 after HPV4 vaccination. With a self-controlled risk interval design, we compared counts of first-ever VTE in risk intervals (Days 1−28 and Days 1−7 post-vaccination) and control intervals (Days 36−56 for Dose 1 and Days 36−63 for Doses 2 and 3). Combined hormonal contraceptive use was treated as a potential confounder. The main analyses were: (1) unadjusted for time-varying VTE risk from contraceptive use, (2) unadjusted but restricted to cases without such time-varying risk, and (3) adjusted by incorporating the modeled risk of VTE by week of contraceptive use in the analysis.Of 279 potential VTE cases identified following 1,423,399 HPV4 doses administered, 225 had obtainable charts, and 53 were confirmed first-ever VTE. All 30 with onsets in risk or control intervals had known risk factors for VTE. VTE risk was not elevated in the first 7 or 28 days following any dose of HPV in any analysis (e.g. relative risk estimate (95% CI) from both unrestricted analyses, for all-doses, 28-day risk interval: 0.7 (0.3−1.4)). Temporal scan statistics found no clustering of VTE onsets after any dose.Thus, we found no evidence of an increased risk of VTE associated with HPV4 among 9−26-year-old females. A particular strength of this evaluation was its control for both time-invariant and contraceptive-related time-varying potential confounding.

Production and Convergence of Multiscale Clustering in Speech

Language entails the scaling of variability across levels of measurement—small linguistic variations occur at the millisecond level, larger variations occur at the next level, and even larger variations occur over longer timescales. For acoustic onsets in speech signals, small temporal variations occur at the phonetic level, larger variations occur at the phrasal level, and even larger variations occur at the conversational level. Scaling across levels of measurement can be quantified in terms of power law distributions. In this article we review recent investigations into power law clustering of acoustic speech onsets. Studies demonstrate that the multiscale clustering in onsets reflects communicative aspects of speech in adult conversations as well as infant vocalizations. We also review evidence that multiscale clustering in the vocalizations of individuals converges during vocal interactions. We relate multiscale convergence to the notion of complexity matching, that is, the hypothesis that maximal information transfer occurs when the power laws of 2 interacting complex systems are matched. We conclude by discussing potential extensions of this work including estimating the multifractal structure of speech and testing the maximal information transfer prediction of complexity matching.

Sonority-related markedness drives the misperception of unattested onset clusters in French listeners

Traiter une structure phonologique qui n’existe pas dans une langue ou qui ne respecte pas les contraintes linguistiques a généralement pour conséquence une transformation, voire même une réparation de celle-ci. Pourtant, il demeure de nombreuses zones d’ombre sur ce qui influence ces deux processus. Notre étude proposait d’étudier ces phénomènes auprès d’adultes et d’enfants français en leur administrant une tâche de comptage syllabique en perception auditive. Nous avons utilisé des non-mots monosyllabiques et leurs contreparties dissyllabiques contenant une voyelle /u/ (par ex., /gmal/ et /gumal/). Nous avons également manipulé un continuum de légalité d’attaques syllabiques non attestées en français en nous appuyant sur le marquage de sonorité (de légal à illégal ; par ex., /gm/ → /bd/ → /ʁb/). Nos résultats indiquent clairement une sensibilité au marquage de sonorité : plus une attaque syllabique était illégale, plus les participants avaient tendance à la réparer phonologiquement avec une voyelle épenthétique illusoire, prototypique du français (e.g., /ʁəb/). Ces profils de réponse ont été observés aussi bien chez les enfants que chez les adultes, sans qu’ils ne soient expliqués par les propriétés acoustiques, phonétiques et statistiques des structures phonologiques, relançant le débat sur le rôle de la sonorité pour la segmentation et la réparation syllabique.

Universal Restrictions on Syllable Structure: Evidence From Mandarin Chinese.

Across languages, certain onset clusters are systematically preferred (e.g., [Formula: see text], "[Formula: see text]" indicates preference), and speakers extend these preferences even to onsets that are unattested in their language. All such demonstrations, however, come from cluster-rich languages, so the observed preferences could reflect not universal linguistic restrictions but lexical analogy. To address this possibility, here, we turn to Mandarin Chinese-a cluster-poor language. We reasoned that, if people are sensitive to the onset hierarchy, then they should repair ill-formed onsets as better-formed ones [Formula: see text]-the worse formed the onset, the more likely its repair, hence, its misidentification. Results were consistent with this hypothesis, and they obtained irrespective of participants' experience with their second language (English). Nonetheless, the effect of syllable structure was strongly modulated by phonetic cues and task demands. These findings suggest that speakers might share broad phonological restrictions, but phonetic factors play a major role in their detection.

On the sonority levels of fricatives and stops

Across languages, stop-sonorant onsets are preferred to fricative-sonorant ones (e.g., pna ≻ fna), suggesting that stop-initial onsets are better formed. Here, we ask whether this preference is active in the linguistic competence of English speakers. To address this question, we compare stop- and fricative-nasal onsets (e.g., pnik vs. fnik) to matched obstruent-obstruent controls (e.g., ptik vs. fsik, respectively). Past research has shown that (a) stop-stop onsets (e.g., ptik) are dispreferred to stop-nasal onsets (e.g., pnik); and (b) dispreferred onsets tend to be misidentified (e.g., ptik → pәtik). We thus reasoned that, if fricative-nasal onsets (e.g., fnik) are worse formed relative to stop-nasal ones (e.g., pnik), then fnik-type onsets should be more vulnerable to misidentification, hence, their advantage over obstruent-obstruent controls (e.g., fsik) should be attenuated. Consequently, when compared to the obstruent-obstruent baseline (e.g., ptik, fsik), misidentification should be less prevalent in stop-nasal onsets (e.g., pnik) compared to fricative-nasal ones (e.g., fnik). The results of three experiments are consistent with this prediction. Our findings suggest that English speakers possess linguistic preferences that mirror the distribution of onset clusters across languages.

Influence of birth cohort on age of onset cluster analysis in bipolar I disorder

PurposeTwo common approaches to identify subgroups of patients with bipolar disorder are clustering methodology (mixture analysis) based on the age of onset, and a birth cohort analysis. This study investigates if a birth cohort effect will influence the results of clustering on the age of onset, using a large, international database. MethodsThe database includes 4037 patients with a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder, previously collected at 36 collection sites in 23 countries. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to adjust the data for country median age, and in some models, birth cohort. Model-based clustering (mixture analysis) was then performed on the age of onset data using the residuals. Clinical variables in subgroups were compared. ResultsThere was a strong birth cohort effect. Without adjusting for the birth cohort, three subgroups were found by clustering. After adjusting for the birth cohort or when considering only those born after 1959, two subgroups were found. With results of either two or three subgroups, the youngest subgroup was more likely to have a family history of mood disorders and a first episode with depressed polarity. However, without adjusting for birth cohort (three subgroups), family history and polarity of the first episode could not be distinguished between the middle and oldest subgroups. ConclusionThese results using international data confirm prior findings using single country data, that there are subgroups of bipolar I disorder based on the age of onset, and that there is a birth cohort effect. Including the birth cohort adjustment altered the number and characteristics of subgroups detected when clustering by age of onset. Further investigation is needed to determine if combining both approaches will identify subgroups that are more useful for research.