Japanese vowel devoicing modulates perceptual epenthesis

Alexander J. Kilpatrick, Shigeto Kawahara, Rikke L. Bundgaard-Nielsen, Brett J. Baker, Janet Fletcher

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperConference Paperpeer-review

Abstract

This study investigates a relationship between perceptual epenthesis and vowel devoicing in Japanese. Across two experiments, epenthetic vowels are compared in environments where devoicing and deletion occur. In Experiment 1, participants assign illicit /VCCV/ and /VCVC/ tokens to /VCuCV/ and /VCVCu/ categories and judge how well tokens fit to the allocated category. In Experiment 2, participants discriminate between phonotactically illicit and licit tokens in AXB tests. The results show that illicit tokens are a better match to"”and more difficult to discriminate from"”their perceptually nearest legal counterpart when the target vowels are deleted than when they are merely devoiced.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the Seventeenth Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology, 4-7 December 2018, Sydney, Australia
PublisherAustralasian Speech Science and Technology Association
Pages121-124
Number of pages4
Publication statusPublished - 2018
EventAustralasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology -
Duration: 4 Dec 2018 → …

Publication series

Name
ISSN (Print)2207-1296

Conference

ConferenceAustralasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology
Period4/12/18 → …

Keywords

  • Japanese language
  • vowels
  • phonology
  • phonetics

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