Cross-language speech perception in adults: Phonemic, phonetic, and acoustic contributions

TLDR

Foreign consonant contrasts differ in perceptual difficulty for adult non‑native listeners, and phonemic, phonetic, and acoustic factors are key to explaining this variability. The study aimed to predict the difficulty of four Hindi retroflex‑vs‑dental contrasts using phonemic status, phonetic experience, and acoustic salience of voicing. English listeners’ perception of the contrasts was examined across four voicing contexts—voiceless unaspirated, breathy voiced, voiceless aspirated, and prevoiced. Performance was not nativelike for any contrast, yet significant differences emerged that correlated with acoustic salience of place cues and listeners’ assimilation strategies.

Abstract

Cross-language studies have shown that foreign consonant contrasts vary in the degree of perceptual difficulty which they present adult non-native listeners. Phonemic, phonetic, and acoustic factors have been considered important in accounting for this variability. These factors were examined by comparing English listeners’ perception of the Hindi retroflex versus dental place-of-articulation constant in four different voicing contexts: voiceless unaspirated, breathy voiced, voiceless aspirated, and prevoiced. Differences in perceptual difficulty of the four contrasts were predicted based on (1) phonemic status (the functional status of the contrast in the listeners’ native phonology), (2) phonetic experience (as allophones or free variants), and (3) differences in acoustic salience related to voicing. Performance was not “nativelike” for any of the four contrasts; however, significant differences in perceptual difficulty among the four contrasts were evident. Perceptual differences were correlated with both acoustic salience of place cues and subjects’ descriptions of their assimilation strategies.