Cross-language perception of final stops in Thai and English : a comparison of native and non-native listeners

Kimiko Tsukada

    Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperConference Paper

    Abstract

    ![CDATA[This study examined Australian English speakers’ and Thai-English bilingual speakers’ ability to perceive word-final stops in English and Thai. Thai bilinguals lived in Sydney, Australia, for 5.5 years on average (range = 0.2 – 30.3). In Experiment 1 (categorial discrimination test), Thai bilinguals were able to discriminate stop contrasts differing in place of articulation in their two languages with equally high degree of accuracy, but English-speaking listeners’ discrimination was good only for English. In Experiment 2 (identification test), English stops produced by native Thai speakers were perceived most accurately by both English and Thai listeners. English listeners’ performance deteriorated when they heard stops in unfamiliar languages. There appeared to be a positive cross-language transfer effect when Thai listeners heard Korean stimuli, as word-final stops in both Thai and Korean are phonetically realized as unreleased stops. Despite a large variation in length of residence in English-speaking countries, Thai bilinguals were a homogeneous group with respect to their patterns of stop perception. This suggests robustness of the L1 perception system in adult bilinguals.]]
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationProceedings of the Tenth Australian International Conference on Speech Science & Technology, held in Ryde, NSW, 8-10 December, 2004
    PublisherAustralian Speech Science and Technology Association
    Number of pages6
    ISBN (Print)0958194610
    Publication statusPublished - 2004
    EventAustralian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology -
    Duration: 1 Jan 2004 → …

    Conference

    ConferenceAustralian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology
    Period1/01/04 → …

    Keywords

    • bilingualism
    • word-final stops
    • phonetics
    • speech perception
    • Thai language
    • English language

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