English Stop Research Articles

The effects of first-language sound change on second-language speech production

Recent studies have shown that the stop system of Korean is undergoing a sound change in which a consonantal opposition between lax and aspirated stops is merging in terms of voice onset time (VOT) whereas the contrast between the two stops is being maximized in terms of fundamental frequency (f0). This study investigates how the ongoing sound change of acoustic parameters in L1 Korean influences L2 English stop production. Results showed that, unlike the VOT merger in L1 Korean, it does not occur in L2 speech production. In contrast, similar to onset-f0 interaction in L1 Korean, there is a strong onset-f0 interaction in L2 English: voiced-low f0 and voiceless-high f0. Korean English learners use not only VOT but also f0 in contrasting an underlying [voice] distinction. The results suggest that f0 differences between lax and aspirated stops in L1 Korean are transferred to those between voiced and voiceless counterparts in L2 English. The findings are discussed with respect to cross-language phonetic effects and synchronic sound change.

Effects of native language on perceptual sensitivity to phonetic cues

The present study used electrophysiological and behavioral measures to investigate the perception of an English stop consonant contrast by native English listeners and by native Dutch listeners who were highly proficient in English. A /ba/-/pa/ continuum was created from a naturally produced /pa/ token by removing successive periods of aspiration, thus reducing the voice onset time. Although aspiration is a relevant cue for distinguishing voiced and unvoiced labial stop consonants (/b/ and /p/) in English, prevoicing is the primary cue used to distinguish between these categories in Dutch. In the electrophysiological experiment, participants listened to oddball sequences containing the standard /pa/ stimulus and one of three deviant stimuli while the mismatch-negativity response was measured. Participants then completed an identification task on the same stimuli. The results showed that native English participants were more sensitive to reductions in aspiration than native Dutch participants, as indicated by shifts in the category boundary, by differing within-group patterns of mismatch-negativity responses, and by larger mean evoked potential amplitudes in the native English group for two of the three deviant stimuli. This between-group difference in the sensorineural processing of aspiration cues indicates that native language experience alters the way in which the acoustic features of speech are processed in the auditory brain, even following extensive second-language training.

Durational Interaction of Stops and Vowels in English and Korean Child-Directed Speech

The current study observes the durational interaction of tautosyllabic consonants and vowels in the word-initial position of English and Korean child-directed speech (CDS). The effect of phonological laryngeal contrasts in stops on the following vowel duration, and the effect of the intrinsic vowel duration on the release duration of preceding stops in addition to the acoustic realization of the contrastive segments are explored in different prosodic contexts - phrase-initial/medial, focal accented/non-focused - in a marked speech style of CDS. A trade-off relationship between Voice Onset Time (VOT), as consonant release duration, and voicing phonation time, as vowel duration, reported from adult-to-adult speech, and patterns of durational variability are investigated in CDS of two languages with different linguistic rhythms, under systematically controlled prosodic contexts. Speech data were collected from four native English mothers and four native Korean mothers who were talking to their one-word staged infants. In addition to the acoustic measurements, the transformed delta measure is employed as a variability index of individual tokens. Results confirm the durational correlation between prevocalic consonants and following vowels. The interaction is revealed in a compensatory pattern such as longer VOTs followed by shorter vowel durations in both languages. An asymmetry is found in CV interaction in that the effect of consonant on vowel duration is greater than the VOT differences induced by the vowel. Prosodic effects are found such that the acoustic difference is enhanced between the contrastive segments under focal accent, supporting the paradigmatic strengthening effect. Positional variation, however, does not show any systematic effects on the variations of the measured acoustic quantities. Overall vowel duration and syllable duration are longer in English tokens but involve less variability across the prosodic variations. The constancy of syllable duration, therefore, is not found to be more strongly sustained in Korean CDS. The stylistic variation is discussed in relation to the listener under linguistic development in CDS.

Effects of Acoustic Cues in the Perception of English Stop Laryngeal Consonants by English and Korean Listeners

Effects of Acoustic Cues in the Perception of English Stop Laryngeal Consonants by English and Korean Listeners

Translating evidence-based guidelines into practice: a survey of practices of commissioners and managers of the English stop smoking services

BackgroundThe English National Health Service’s (NHS) Stop Smoking Services (SSSs) constitute one of the most highly developed behavioural support programmes in the world. However, there is significant variation in success rates across the approximately 150 services, some of which may be due to variation in practice. This study aimed to assess these differences in practice.MethodsTwo online surveys were administered. All commissioners (people who purchase services for the NHS) and managers (those who run the services) of NHS SSSs in England were invited to participate. Items included details of current practices and services provided, what informed the commissioning of SSSs, what targets were included within service specifications and whether the types of treatment model to be delivered were specified.ResultsBoth surveys had a response rate of 35%, with 50 commissioners and 58 managers participating. There were no significant differences between the characteristics of the Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) from which commissioners and managers responded to this survey and those PCTs from which there was no response. Managers reported that the treatment model most frequently offered by SSSs was one-to-one (98%). A total of 16% of managers reported that some approved medications were not available as first-line treatments. Just over one third (38%) of commissioners reported consulting national guidelines or best evidence to inform local commissioning. Almost one third (30%) of commissioners reported that they specified the types of stop smoking interventions to be delivered by the providers.ConclusionsA substantial part of commissioning of Stop Smoking Services in England appears to take place without adequate consultation of evidence-based guidelines or specification of the service to be provided. This may account for at least some of the variation in success rates.

Specifying Evidence-Based Behavior Change Techniques to Aid Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy

Behavioral support aids smoking cessation in pregnancy. However, it remains unclear which component behavior change techniques (BCTs) contribute to effectiveness or the extent to which these are applied in practice. This study aimed to examine (a) which BCTs were included in effective behavioral support interventions for pregnant smokers (b) the prevalence of use of these BCTs by the English Stop Smoking Services (SSSs). From a Cochrane review of smoking cessation behavioral support in pregnancy, 7 interventions were identified as effective in that they increased the odds of cessation by at least 50%, and differences between intervention and control conditions were statistically significant. BCTs in each intervention were identified using an established taxonomy of BCTs. Thirteen treatment manuals from SSSs were coded for inclusion of BCTs. Thirty-seven BCTs were identified across trials of behavioral support for pregnant smokers, with an average of 8 BCTs, and a range of 6-34 BCTs, per intervention. Eleven BCTs were present in at least 2 effective interventions (e.g., facilitate goal setting [n = 6], advise on social support [n = 2], action planning [n = 5], provide rewards contingent on successfully stopping smoking [n = 4]). Only 15.4% of treatment manuals from SSSs contained all 11 BCTs; 53.8% contained at least 6 of them. While BCTs associated with effective interventions can be identified from systematically reviewed literature, English SSSs appear to use only a limited proportion of these in practice.

Beliefs of Stop Smoking Practitioners in United Kingdom on the Use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy for Smoking Reduction

This paper aimed to assess the current beliefs of stop smoking practitioners and managers about using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for smoking reduction (SR) and the factors related to these beliefs. An online survey was conducted of practitioners and managers working in the 152 English stop smoking services (SSSs). Questions were asked about their beliefs concerning the safety of using NRT for SR. Sixteen percent and 30% of the sample, respectively, believed that NRT use for a year or more and the concurrent use of NRT and cigarettes was harmful to health. The most commonly reported potential harms of the long-term use of NRT and the concurrent use of NRT and cigarettes were addiction, overdose and mouth cancer. Seventeen percent of the sample also believed that the use of NRT for SR could hinder smoking cessation. Reports differed as a function of the managers' relationship with their commissioner and influence on the commissioning process, while among practitioners as a function of the number of months worked, gender, frequency of update training and whether they advised reduction as a treatment option. A significant minority of stop smoking practitioners and stop smoking managers believe that NRT use for SR can be harmful to health and undermine smoking cessation. These beliefs should be addressed, especially if the use of NRT in these ways is provided as a route to quitting in SSSs.

Client Satisfaction With English Stop Smoking Services

AbstractThis study reports client satisfaction in five UK National Health Service (NHS) Stop Smoking Services (SSS) and examines the impact of satisfaction on outcome four weeks postquit. Six services were selected on the basis of perceived ability to run the study from a pool of 11 who responded to a mailshot to volunteer. Advisors made one of two satisfaction surveys available to their clients two weeks after quitting smoking. The two surveys were a ‘brief’ three-item survey and a ‘full’ survey containing those items plus 19 others about specific aspects of the service. There were two key items: how satisfied respondents were with the support they received to stop smoking and would they recommend the service to another smoker. Surveys were completed anonymously but had unique identification numbers so they could be linked to individual demographic and outcome data. Overall 10% (554/5520) of treated smokers in the services completed a survey, 7% (390/5520) completed the ‘full’ survey. Responses were a strong endorsement of the participating services, with 93% (505/542) satisfied or very satisfied with the service and 99% (548/552) prepared to recommend the service. The sample was unrepresentative of the population of treated smokers in terms of eligibility for free prescriptions, ethnicity, age, type of treatment experienced, the type of advisor seen, medication use and end of treatment outcome. Satisfaction at week two was not related to abstinence at four weeks postquit. Limitations of the study and suggestions for service delivery are discussed.

The Production of English Sounds by Early Learners with Different English Learning Experience

This study investigated the production of English stop and fricative sounds by conducting on-line experiments on three groups of Korean children with different English-learning experience. More specifically, to examine the effect of different L2 experience on L2 sound production, 23 Korean EFL children, 21 bilingual returnees, and 19 ESL children produced 32 English nonce words. Their average age was 9.3. Nonce words consisted of 8 stops and 24 voiceless fricatives beginning with either the alveolar stop /t/ or /d/ (e.g., tilwerk, tolmick, dilwerk, dolmick) or one of the fricatives /f/, /?/, /s/, and /?/ (e.g., findert ,thindert, simbert, shipkin; farbin ,tharbin, soltem, sholtem). The results showed that the learners’ different English-learning experience had an impact on the production of English sounds, as the ESL children outperformed the bilingual returnees, who in turn outperformed the EFL children. Moreover, the results indicated that target sounds’ manners and places of articulation and the following vowel contexts influenced the production of English consonants by the children. Further, different patterns of substitution were obtained depending on the children’s different L2 experience. L1 interference and markedness were also shown to play a role in the production of L2 sounds. The role of perception in L2 production and its implications for L2 production were also discussed.

Development of a taxonomy of behaviour change techniques used in individual behavioural support for smoking cessation

Objective Individual behavioural support for smoking cessation is effective but little is known about the ‘active ingredients’. As a first step to establishing this, it is essential to have a consistent terminology for specifying intervention content. This study aimed to develop for the first time a reliable taxonomy of behaviour change techniques (BCTs) used within individual behavioural support for smoking cessation. Method Two source documents describing recommended practice were identified and analysed by two coders into component BCTs. The resulting taxonomy of BCTs was applied to 43 treatment manuals obtained from the English Stop Smoking Services (SSSs). In the first 28 of these, pairs of coders applied the taxonomy independently and inter-coder reliability was assessed. The BCTs were also categorised by two coders according to their main function and inter-coder reliability for this was assessed. Results Forty-three BCTs were identified which could be classified into four functions: 1) directly addressing motivation e.g. providing rewards contingent on abstinence, 2) maximising self-regulatory capacity or skills e.g. facilitating barrier identification and problem solving, 3) promoting adjuvant activities e.g. advising on stop-smoking medication, and 4) supporting other BCTs e.g. building general rapport. Percentage agreement in identifying BCTs and of categorising BCTs into their functions ranged from 86% to 95% and discrepancies were readily resolved through discussion. Conclusion It is possible to develop a reliable taxonomy of BCTs used in behavioural support for smoking cessation which can provide a starting point for investigating the association between intervention content and outcome and can form a basis for determining competences required to undertake the role of stop smoking specialist.

Identifying Evidence-Based Competences Required to Deliver Behavioural Support for Smoking Cessation

No systematic basis has yet been published for specifying competences needed to underpin behavioural support for smoking cessation. The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a system for identifying competences required for the delivery of individual and group-based behavioural support for smoking cessation. Sets of recommended competences for behavioural support were identified from a range of guidance documents. Where possible, these were compared with ones based on behaviour change techniques identified within behavioural support programmes found to be effective in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and, for individual behavioural support, ones associated with higher success rates in the English Stop Smoking Services. Ninety-four competences were identified (71 individual and 23 additional group competences), of which 59 were cited in at least two guidance documents (51 and 8, respectively). Fourteen of the individual competences and three of the group competences were supported by RCT evidence and, for individual competences, nine were supported by evidence from the services. It is possible to identify competences recommended for behavioural support for smoking cessation and subsets supported by different types of evidence. This approach can form the basis for the development of assessment and training of stop smoking practitioners and is currently doing so in a national programme in England. With further research, the list of evidence-based competences is likely to be extended.

Variable Vowel Adaptations of English Word-final Stops in Korean Loanword Phonology

This paper examines the patterns of vowel epenthesis in English loanword adaptation that occur when English loanwords that end in postvocalic word-final stops are borrowed into Korean. We then provide a variable rule analysis of the three vowel epenthesis patterns: vowel epenthesis, no vowel epenthesis and variable vowel epenthesis, according to four linguistic factor groups, the tenseness of pre-final vowel (tense vs. lax), the voicing of the final stop (voiced vs. voiceless), the place of articulation of the final stop (coronal vs. labial vs. dorsal), and the number of syllables (monosyllabic vs. polysyllabic). Our analysis reveals that ‘tense’, ‘voiced’, ‘coronal’, and ‘monosyllabic’ are, in this order, the most significant factors for vowel epenthesis, whereas ‘labial’, ‘lax’, ‘polysyllabic’, ‘dorsal’, and ‘voiceless’ are the most crucial factors for no vowel epenthesis. It is also found that variable vowel epenthesis is most likely to occur when the factors are set as ‘lax’, ‘coronal’ and ‘voiceless’.

Behavior change techniques used by the English Stop Smoking Services and their associations with short-term quit outcomes

To help identify effective components of behavioral support for smoking cessation, this study identified the behavior change techniques (BCTs) specified in the treatment manuals of 43 English Stop Smoking Services (SSSs) and assessed association between inclusion of specific BCTs and SSS success rates. SSSs (n = 144) were contacted to request their treatment manuals. BCTs included in the manuals were identified using a previously established taxonomy. Associations between inclusion of specific BCTs and short-term (4-week) quit outcomes were assessed. Ninety-eight services responded, of which 43 had suitable treatment manuals. Out of 43 possible BCTs, SSS manuals included a mean of 22 (range 9-37). The number of sessions used for delivery of the smoking cessation intervention differed markedly (range 1-13) across services. Nine of the BCTs were significantly associated with both self-reported and carbon monoxide (CO)-verified 4-week quit rates (e.g., strengthen ex-smoker identity, provide rewards contingent on abstinence, advise on medication, measure CO) and a further 5 were associated with CO-verified 4-week quit rates but not self-reported quit rates (e.g., advise on/facilitate use of social support, provide reassurance). SSSs that scheduled in more sessions had higher quit rates. English SSSs vary widely in how far their treatment manuals include specific behavior change techniques and how many do not have manuals. It is possible to identify BCTs that are reliably associated with better quit outcomes. Behavioral support for smoking cessation could be improved by a more systematic approach to identifying and applying BCTs that are associated with better quit outcomes.

Prosody in English Stop Representation by Korean Adult Learners of English

This study examines the patterns of prosodically induced variation in the English stop contrast produced by Korean learners of English. The acoustic...

Emergent Stops in English and in Polish: Against Syllable-Based Accounts

Consonant epenthesis has been used to provide support for syllable-based approaches. In Optimality Theoretic accounts, epenthesis serves to reduce the markedness by providing missing onsets. In this paper, I look at a different type of apparent insertion, the emergence of stops in consonant clusters. In search for a possible driver of the process, I consider syllable structure, syllable contact, and sonority distance. It is demonstrated that the syllable cannot be held accountable for the appearance of stops in consonant clusters. More generally, reference to markedness results in wrong predictions. It is argued that a diachronic phonetically-based explanation referring to aerodynamic requirements and articulatory gestures has significantly more explanatory power. The mis-timing of phonetic gestures may lead to structural reinterpretation, giving rise to the phonologization of emergent stops. Historical and modern English, as well as dialectal Polish, provide the primary illustrative examples for this phonetically-based analysis.

The phonetic approach to English stop adaptation in Korean and Thai

The phonetic approach to English stop adaptation in Korean and Thai

Measuring sensitivity to short‐term deviations in acoustic cue correlation.

Listeners are sensitive to correlations among the multiple probabilistic acoustic cues that define speech categories. In English stop consonant productions, for example, fundamental frequency (f0) is strongly correlated with voicing. Reflecting this regularity, perception of syllables varying in voice onset time is shifted with changes in f0. Such sensitivity to the long‐term regularities of a language must be balanced with enough flexibility that speech perception is able to accommodate deviations from these regularities, such as those that may arise variations from idiolect, dialect, or accented speech. The present experiments manipulate short‐term acoustic cue correlations experienced in online perception to investigate the interplay between sensitivity to long‐term and short‐term acoustic cue correlation. Using overt categorization and eyetracking, the present results indicate that speech categorization is influenced by local shifts in acoustic cue correlations that deviate from long‐term regularities of English. These experiments further examine the time course of this short‐term learning and the degree to which it generalizes. The data suggest that listeners continually monitor speech input for regularity and tune online speech perception in relation to these regularities.

Voice onset time versus articulatory modeling for stop consonants

Voice onset time (VOT) was developed as a parameter for the pattern-playback speech synthesizer developed approximately 50 years ago, in order to generate the acoustic effects of voiced-unvoiced differences in English stop consonants. However, problems arose when the VOT parameter was used to define stops in actual spoken language, to replace aerodynamic and physiological parameters. A representative physiological model from the same time-period that avoided these problems is sketched. In this model, the manner-of-articulation of a stop is determined by the duration, timing, and extent of laryngeal, articulatory, and respiratory gestures. It is concluded that the term voice onset time should be used only as a parameter in speech synthesis, as originally intended, and not for the analysis of actual speech.

Discrimination of English and Thai words ending with voiceless stops by native Thai listeners differing in English experience

This study examines the discrimination of words ending with voiceless stops /p t k/ in first language (L1) and second language (L2) by three groups of native Thai participants. These participants differed in their countries of residence and experience with L2 English in the formal education system. The first group (T1) was a group of 18 Thai listeners who were living in Australia. The second and third groups consisted of 12 university students (T2) and 12 high-school students (T3) living in Thailand. Eighteen Australian English (AusE) listeners were included as controls. English and Thai words minimally contrasting in the final stop (e.g. ‘cap’ vs. ‘cat’) were presented to the listeners to investigate whether L2 phonetic learning occurs even for the contrasts that are expected to be discriminated with high accuracy from the onset of L2 learning and if so, how it is influenced by L2 experience. All three Thai groups showed reasonably accurate discrimination for both English and Thai words, but only T1 showed discrimination accuracy comparable to AusE in English. Further, only T3 was clearly more accurate in discriminating unreleased Thai than English stop contrasts, most of which were accompanied with release bursts. These two findings are taken to be evidence for phonetic learning of specific aspects of L2 contrasts rather than positive L1 transfer.

Natural Boundaries in Gap Detection are Related to Categorical Perception of Stop Consonants

The hypothesis that a natural auditory psychophysical discontinuity contributes to a perceptual category boundary between voiced and voiceless English stop consonants was examined. The relationships between voice onset time (VOT) phonetic boundary and gap-detection thresholds for conditions in which the sounds delimiting the gap were acoustically identical or different were examined in 18 native young adult English speakers. It was specifically hypothesized that between-channel gap-detection thresholds, in contrast to within-channel gap thresholds, would be better predictors of categorical VOT values for listeners. The stimuli used in the between-channel gap-detection task were designed such that dissimilar leading and trailing markers of the gap approximated a stop burst and a following vowel, both in terms of temporal and spectral relationships, while being devoid of phonetic identity. The stimuli used to examine the VOT measure were synthesized bilabial stop syllables in a continuum ranging from /ba/ to /pa/. Statistically significant larger gap thresholds were found for the between-channel conditions than for the within-channel condition (p < 0.05). The center frequency of the trailing marker affected the between-channel gap thresholds with the thresholds improving as the center frequency increased (p < 0.05). Statistically significant positive correlations and predictive linear relations were found between VOT phonetic boundaries and between-channel gap thresholds (p < 0.05) but not within-channel gap thresholds (p > 0.05). A relationship between the phonetic boundary of voiced-voiceless speech sounds and the auditory temporal resolution task of detecting gaps placed within dissimilar markers, regardless of the center frequency of the trailing marker noise burst, was demonstrated. Detection of gaps between different nonspeech acoustic markers and categorical perception of VOT seems to share the same underlying perceptual timing mechanisms in native English speakers.