Voice Onset Time Production Research Articles

Park or bark? VOT production of English bilabial stops in Omani Arabic speakers of English

This study compares Voice Onset Time (VOT) patterns of word-initial English/b/and/p/in three groups: Omani undergraduate students, Omani professors and native English speakers (NES). It aims to investigate whether Omani Arabic students and professors can produce native-like VOTs of the English bilabial stops compared to NESs, and to what extent the findings support speech learning theories, such as the Speech Learning Model and the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis.Words containing/b, p/in two different phonetic environments (CV and CC) were elicited from the participants using a reading task. Also, Arabic words containing word-initial/b/were elicited from Omani professors to compare the VOT of Arabic and English/b/. The results revealed a significant difference between the mean VOT of Arabic and English/b/. A significant difference in the VOT patterns of/p/between students and NESs were also found, but not between professors and NESs. Students'/p/productions were characterized with shorter lag compared to those of professors or NESs. Variability in the production of English/b/existed among Omani speakers. While VOT production in NESs were characterized with short lag, students' and professors’ productions were characterized sometimes with voicing lead and other times with short/long lag. VOT values of/b/and/p/were not significantly affected by the phonetic context. The findings are discussed in relation to the Speech Learning Model and the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis.

CONSTRAINTS ON THE VARIABILITY IN ENGLISH VOICE ONSET TIME PRODUCTION: EVIDENCE FROM SPONTANEOUS SPEECH

Voice onset time (VOT) - an aspect of stop production, is known to be constrained by a number of word-level and speaker-level factors. While there has been extensive experimental research on VOT production, few studies have situated this aspect in naturally-occurring spontaneous speech. The goal of this study is twofold. First, we determine if the factors that affect VOT production in experimental studies conducted in speech laboratories are also relevant for VOT production in spontaneous speech. Second, we explore the possible interactions among those factors. In this study, a spoken corpus consisting of clips from a reality TV show was analyzed using a semi-automatic VOT measurement method that allows for the quick and reliable processing of large numbers of VOT measures. The findings confirm the effects of word-level constraints in the expected directions; however, we find negligible effects of speakers' individual differences, namely speech rate and speaker’s gender, on VOTs. The current study sheds new light on a range of factors that were previously identified as significantly affecting the patterning of VOTs found in experimentally-elicited data.

Phonetic and Lexical Crosslinguistic Influence in Early Spanish–Basque–English Trilinguals

AbstractA central question in multilingualism research is how multiple languages interact. Most studies have focused on first (L1) and second language (L2) effects on a third language (L3), but a small number of studies dedicated to the opposite transfer direction have suggested stronger L3 influence on L2 than on L1 in postpuberty learners. In our study, we provide further support for stronger L3‐to‐L2 than L3‐to‐L1 influence and show that it extends to (a) phonetics and the lexicon and (b) childhood learners. Fifty Spanish–Basque–English trilingual adults who had acquired Spanish from birth and Basque between 2 to 4 years of age through immersion participated in a speeded trilingual switching task measuring production of voice onset time and lexical intrusions. Participants experienced more phonetic and lexical crosslinguistic influence from L3 English during L2‐Basque production than during L1‐Spanish production. These findings show that even highly proficient early bilinguals experience differential influence from a classroom‐taught L3 to L1 and to L2.

Perception and production of voice onset time in bilingual Italian-German children and monolingual German peers

Perception and production of voice onset time in bilingual Italian-German children and monolingual German peers

Acoustic Analysis of Voicing Contrast in Malay Word-Initial Plosives Produced by Mandarin-Speaking Children

Voice Onset Time (VOT) is an acoustic measure widely used to measure the characteristics of plosives across various languages. This study investigates the acquisition of voicing contrast in Malay word-initial plosives produced by Mandarin-speaking children. Fifteen subjects between the ages of 3;00 to 7 and 11 were recruited. The children completed a picture-naming task, and the speech samples were audio-recorded and analyzed using PRAAT. Descriptive VOT values (ms) across ages were presented and compared to previous normative findings. Results revealed that children aged 3;00 produced only a short lag, while children aged 4;00 to 6;00 produced short lag-long lag contrast, which is not similar to the expected VOT pattern of Malay plosives. Additionally, with increasing age, children acquired adult-like VOT productions. The VOT distributions follow the developmental path proposed for languages with two-way contracts. This finding is the first VOT data on Malay word-initial plosives by Mandarin-speaking children. Maturity of motor development and coordination, as well as cross-linguistic exposure, influenced productions. Thus, further studies examining cross-linguistic influence, particularly controlling for the duration of exposure to L2 in multilingual language acquisition with a larger sample size, are warranted to validate the findings from this study.

Subsegmental representation in child speech production: structured variability of stop consonant voice onset time in American English and Cantonese.

Voice onset time (VOT) of aspirated stop consonants is marked by variability and systematicity in adult speech production. The present study investigated variability and systematicity of voiceless aspirated stop VOT from 161 two- to five-year-old talkers of American English and Cantonese. Overall, many aspects of child VOT productions parallel adult patterns, the analysis of which can help inform our understanding of early speech production. For instance, VOT means were comparable between children and adults, despite greater variability. Further, across children in both languages, talker-specific VOT means were strongly correlated between [th] and [kh]. This correlation may reflect a constraint of "target uniformity" that minimizes variation in the phonetic realization of a shared distinctive feature. Therefore findings suggest that target uniformity is not merely a product of a mature grammar, but may instead shape speech production representations in children as young as two years of age.

Voice onset time (VOT) of L3 Spanish /ptk/ by multilingual heritage speakers of Ukrainian and Polish

This study provides an acoustic analysis of voice onset time (VOT) of voiceless stops /ptk/ in Spanish, produced by heritage speakers (HSs) of Ukrainian and of Polish who are English-dominant and beginner or intermediate learners of Spanish as a third language (L3). Given that both Ukrainian and Polish, like Spanish and unlike English, are characterized by short-lag VOT, data were collected from six Ukrainian HSs and 11 Polish HSs in their heritage language (HL), in English, and in Spanish to compare potential effects of the HL on L3 VOT production. VOT was analyzed in three task types. The goals were: 1) to determine whether VOT values produced in Spanish by Ukrainian and Polish HSs are more reflective of VOTs in the HL or in English, and 2) to determine the effect of task type on VOT. Data show that Ukrainian and Polish HSs’ VOTs in Spanish are shorter than those of L2 Spanish learners whose L1 is English, indicating a HL rather than dominant language influence on L3 VOT. Results suggest that the most crucial factors in L3 phonological acquisition are: 1) structural similarity between HL and L3, and 2) L3 proficiency (not language dominance). VOT was also affected by task type: like L1 Spanish speakers, VOT of Ukrainian HSs increases as task formality increases. This paper fills research gaps in HL and L3 phonetics/phonology as to the effects of a HL on the acquisition of subsequent sound systems in adulthood.

Production of voice onset time (VOT) by senior Polish learners of English

AbstractAlthough research on foreign language learning among seniors has recently accelerated, studies on L2 phonology in this age group remain scarce. Seniors may be at a great disadvantage when it comes to learning the sounds of a foreign language because age of onset has been shown to correlate negatively with ultimate attainment especially for phonology (Piske et al. 2001). However, this is all the more reason to attempt a better understanding of the mechanisms of senior. This paper offers an attempt at shedding light on how senior learners with an age of L2 onset above 60 produce voiced and voiceless L2 word-initial stops. Twenty L1 Polish senior learners of English were asked to read a list of words containing word-initial voiced and voiceless plosives in their L2 English at A2+/B1 level according to CEFR. The results show that the senior Polish learners of English produce an in-between category for the English stops (with VOT longer than for Polish, but shorter than native English). The senior learners also experienced L1 drift, but mostly in the voiceless L1 Polish stops.

Role of Regional Language Background and Speech Styles on the Production of Voice Onset Time (VOT) in English among Indonesian Multilinguals

This paper seeks to contribute to the nature of cross-linguistic transfer in the production of English Voice Onset Time (VOT) by adult multilingual speakers in Indonesia in view of how different regional home languages and speech settings shape the phonetic realizations. Three adult multilinguals participated in this pilot project. They are all learners of English as the third language (L3) at the Department of English of a state university in Malang, Indonesia who acquire different regional home languages – Javanese, Sundanese, and Madurese – as the first language (L1) and speak Indonesian as the second language (L2). The participants’ production of bilabial stop consonants of English /p/ and /b/ were elicited from two different speech settings; a careful speech via text readings (monologue and dialogue) and wordlist reading, and a spontaneous speech through natural conversation among participants. 21 tokens from each participant were then analyzed acoustically in Praat. The findings show that the bilingual speaker with L1 Sundanese consistently produced the shortest VOT values of both /p/ and /b/. The Javanese speaker produced the intermediate lag, whereas the Madurese speaker produced the longest aspiration interval. It is shown that the Sundanese language provides the strongest transfer effect, while Madurese gives the least effect. In light of cross-linguistic transfer, however, the overall VOT productions clearly put forth evidence of L1 phonological transfer. The production of non-native bilabial stop VOTs of English is largely due to the absence of this phonetic property in Javanese and Sundanese while Madurese shows marginal similarities. The findings also demonstrate that speech styles play only a marginal role in determining the production of VOTs that the VOTs of /p/ and /b/ in careful speech is found to be slightly longer than in the spontaneous settings. This study makes an original contribution to the area of phonological acquisition in adult speakers by giving attention to the understudied languages of Indonesia in order to more fully understand the interaction of different language systems in multilingual language acquisition and development.

The relationship between inhibitory control and speech production in young multilinguals

Abstract Speech production in multilinguals involves constant inhibition of the languages currently not in use. In relation to phonological development, higher inhibitory skills may lead to the improved suppression of interference from the remaining languages in one’s repertoire and more accurate production of target features. The participants were 20 sequential multilingual learners (13-year-olds with L1 Polish, L2 English, L3 German), acquiring their L2 and L3 by formal instruction in a primary school. Inhibition was measured in a modified flanker task (Eriksen & Eriksen 1974; Poarch & Bialystok 2015). Multilingual production of voice onset time (VOT) and rhotic consonants was tested in a delayed repetition task (e.g. Kopečková et al. 2016; Krzysik 2019) in their L2 and L3. The results revealed that higher inhibitory control was related to increased global accuracy in the L2 and L3 production. Moreover, higher inhibitory control was also linked to higher accuracy in the overall L2 production, but there was no significant relationship with the L3 accuracy. These findings suggest that inhibition may play a role in phonological speech production, however, it may depend on one’s level of proficiency.

Desenvolvimento de L2 e atrito de L1 em contexto dominante de L1: análise do VOT em Espanhol (L1) e Inglês (L2) (L2 development and L1 attrition in an L1-dominant environment: analysing voice onset time in L1 Spanish and L2 English)

Neste estudo, investigamos a ocorrência de atrito de L1 entre aprendizes argentinos de inglês (L2) residentes em seu país de origem, o que constitui um ambiente dominante em L1. Analisamos a produção do VOT em plosivas iniciais de palavras em espanhol L1 de participantes monolíngües e bilíngües. Realizamos uma análise inferencial e uma verificação individual da produção de cada participante, que se mostrou complementar. Nossos resultados sugerem que não somente a L2 é afetada pela L1, mas também a L1 pode ser modificada em vista do contato com outros idiomas.

Precision of voicing perceptual identification is altered in association with voice-onset time production changes.

There is ample evidence that motor learning changes the function of perceptual systems. Previous studies examining the interactions between speech production and perception have shown that the discrimination of phonetic contrasts characterized by the difference in articulatory place features is altered following their production changes caused by the perturbation of auditory feedback. The present study focused on a voiced-voiceless contrast in stop consonants, which is characterized by a temporal articulatory parameter, voice-onset time (VOT). In the experiment, we manipulated the participants' motor functions concerning VOT using a cross-categorical auditory feedback (CAF) paradigm (Mitsuya et al. in J Acoust Soc Am 135:2986-2994, 2014), in which a pre-recorded syllable sound starting with a voiced stop consonant (/da/) was fed back simultaneously with the participant's utterance of a voiceless stop consonant (/ta/), and vice versa. The VOT difference between /da/ and /ta/ productions was increased by the CAF, which is consistent with the result of Mitsuya's study. In addition, we conducted perceptual identification tasks of /da/-/ta/ continuum stimuli varying in VOT before and after the CAF task, and found that the identification function became sharper after as compared to before the CAF task. A significant positive correlation between such production and perception changes was also found. On the basis of these results, we consider that the change in motor function concerning VOT affected voiced-voiceless perceptual processing. The present study is the first to show the involvement of the speech production system in the perception of phonetic contrasts characterized by articulatory temporal features.

On the Acquisition of English Voiceless Stop VOT by Indonesian-English Bilinguals: Evidence of Input Frequency

The paper attempted to investigate the acquisition of Voice Onset Time (VOT) of voiceless stop consonants of English /p/, /t/, and /k/ by Indonesian-English bilingual children in its close relation to how second language (L2) input shapes the L2 VOT production. It looked at two types of bilingual participants; (1) one 6-year-old participant receiving extensive input of English natives from YouTube in about 8 hours per day since she was two in addition to having an interactive communication in English with her family members (2) four students (aged 7-8 years old) of International Class Program with non-native environment of English. Both groups were residing in Malang, East Java, Indonesia at the time of data collection. The comparative analysis concluded that the VOT valued differ significantly across different inputs. The participants with non native input acquired much shorter VOTs falling within the average of 28 – 36 ms, while the one with native input could achieve native-like VOTs in the average of 69 ms for /p/ and /t/ and even longer for stop consonant /k/. Contributing factors of individual differences might arrive from input frequency levels, types of inputs, and complexities of phonological properties of Indonesian and English.

Bilingual Preschoolers’ Speech is Associated with Non-Native Maternal Language Input

ABSTRACT Bilingual children are often exposed to non-native speech through their parents. Yet, little is known about the relation between bilingual preschoolers’ speech production and their speech input. The present study investigated the production of voice onset time (VOT) by Dutch-German bilingual preschoolers and their sequential bilingual mothers. The findings reveal an association between maternal VOT and bilingual children’s VOT in the heritage language German as well as in the majority language Dutch. By contrast, no input-production association was observed in the VOT production of monolingual German-speaking children and monolingual Dutch-speaking children. The results of this study provide the first empirical evidence that non-native and attrited maternal speech contributes to the often-observed linguistic differences between bilingual children and their monolingual peers.

Revisiting (Non-)Native Influence in VOT Production: Insights from Advanced L3 Spanish

A growing body of research investigating cross-linguistic influence on the acquisition of a third phonological system suggests that first (L1) and second (L2) languages concur in influencing oral production in the target third language (L3). Yet, there are also claims of either a more noticeable effect of the L2 on the L3, or a prevailing influence from the L1. This study further explores whether the L1 and the L2 compete or converge on exerting influence on L3 pronunciation. To do so, we examine the production of voice onset time for voiceless stops by adult advanced learners of L3 Spanish divided into two groups (15 L1 English-L2 French, and 15 L1 French-L2 English speakers). Three monolingual control groups were also tested. Participants were recorded reading word lists that contained voiceless stops in stressed onset position. A Kruskal-Wallis test uncovered significant differences traceable to the L1-English speakers, which puts them at a slight disadvantage vis-à-vis their Francophone counterparts. These results favor claims of a more decisive role for the L1 in L3 pronunciation. We compare our results to findings from previous studies targeting intermediate learners, and find proficiency in the L3 may account for the observed differences.

Efeitos do contato entre categorias fonéticas distintas em contextos de imigração: uma revisão sobre o atrito de língua materna

Ainda são poucos os estudos, sobretudo no Brasil, que buscam investigar o processo de perda da língua materna não patológica e não relacionada ao envelhecimento saudável, aqui tida como atrito linguístico, fenômeno frequente na produção e percepção dos sons da fala por imigrantes. Este trabalho de cunho qualitativo e bibliográfico, então, tem como objetivo apresentar um panorama sobre o atrito linguístico e sobre os efeitos do contato entre categorias fonéticas distintas na produção do Voice Onset Time por imigrantes em contexto de L2 dominante, buscando também discutir o caráter dinâmico da linguagem e popularizar essa área de investigação.--- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22409/gragoata.2017n42a903

Voice onset time production in Ecuadorian Spanish, Quichua, and Media Lengua

In Ecuador there exists a dynamic language contact continuum between Urban Spanish and Rural Quichua. This study explores the effects of competing phonologies with an analysis of voice onset time (VOT) production in and across three varieties of Ecuadorian highland Spanish, Quichua, and Media Lengua. Media Lengua is a mixed language that contains Quichua systemic elements and a lexicon of Spanish origin. Because of this lexical-grammatical split, Media Lengua is considered the most central point along the language continuum. Native Quichua phonology has a single series of voiceless stops (/p/, /t/, and /k/), while Spanish shows a clear voicing contrast between stops in the same series. This study makes use of nearly 8,000 measurements from 69 participants to (i) document VOT production in the aforementioned language varieties and (ii) analyse the effects of borrowings on VOT. Results based on mixed effects models and multidimensional scaling suggest that the voicing contrast has entered both Media Lengua and Quichua through Spanish lexical borrowings. However, the VOT values of voiced stops in Media Lengua align with those of Rural and L2 Spanish while Quichua shows significantly longer prevoicing values, suggesting some degree of overshoot.

Perception of voice onset time in Singapore English

This study investigates how voice onset time (VOT) is perceived in Singapore English (SgE). SgE research acknowledges that Singaporeans linguistically accommodate their listeners—varying between using Standard Singapore English (SSE) or Singlish (colloquial SgE) depending on addressee. Liu 2011 (n.p.) suggests these linguistic accommodations are reflected in VOT production, finding Singaporeans to produce more short-lag VOT (indicative of Singlish) when speaking to other Singaporeans and longer VOT (indicative of SSE) when speaking to Americans. Though these are sub-categorical shifts, they demonstrate the utility of VOT in speakers’ efforts when accommodating listeners. The current study tests whether VOT is also available as a salient and social perceptual cue. Three listening experiments investigate (1) Singaporeans’ baseline categorical perception of a /ba/-/pa/ continuum, (2) whether this baseline is affected when heard with socially salient pictures (i.e., linguistic stereotypes—an ah lian or a business woman), and (3) whether dialectal carrier phrases—whether stimuli are presented within a SSE or Singlish phrase—affects perception of the same stimuli. Preliminary results show listener age and educational background, which allude to an effect of dialectal experience (Sumner and Samuel 2009), play important roles in the perception of VOT.

The role of code-switching and language context in bilingual phonetic transfer

The present study examines the effect of two potential catalysts for interlanguage phonetic interaction, code-switching and language mode, on the production of voice onset time (VOT) to better understand the role of (near) simultaneous dual language activation on phonetic production, as well as the nature of phonetic transfer. An oral production paradigm was carried out in which Spanish–English bilinguals produced words with initial voiceless stops as non-switched tokens, code-switched tokens in an otherwise monolingual context, and code-switched tokens in a bilingual context. Results demonstrated a degree of phonetic transfer associated with code-switching, either unidirectional or bi-directional. Specifically, English, with long lag VOT, was more susceptible to phonetic transfer than Spanish (short lag). Contrary to expectations, while the code-switching effect was present in both monolingual and bilingual mode, there was no additional transfer, or additive effect, of bilingual language mode. Differences in the effects of code-switching on English and Spanish are discussed with respect to the inherently different acceptable VOT ranges in the two languages. Furthermore, the lack of difference in VOT between the code-switched tokens in the monolingual and bilingual contexts is taken to suggest limits on phonetic transfer.

VOT in French as a foreign language: A production and perception study with mono- and multilingual learners (German/Mandarin-Chinese)

This study addresses the production of Voice Onset Time (VOT) in French as a foreign language (FFL). The learners are young multilingual learners who speak Mandarin Chinese as a heritage language along with German. To determine potential effects of the learners’ multilingual background, these multilingual learners were compared to three control groups: (1) monolingual German learners of FFL, (2) monolingual Mandarin Chinese learners of FFL, and (3) native speakers of French (L1). In addition, a perception experiment was carried out to find out to what extent the VOT values measured in the production data contribute to the perception of foreign accent. Our results show that multilingual learners perform similar to monolingual learners, suggesting that multilingual learners are neither advantaged nor disadvantaged when acquiring the phonology of a foreign language. Furthermore, the learners’ perceived accent in the perception data study mirrors the results from the production study.