NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) for FY 2013 in Korea

Schertz Jessamyn L, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Jessamyn Schertz of the University of Arizona to conduct a research project in Linguistics during the summer of 2013 at the Hanyang Phonetics and Psycholinguistics Laboratory at Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea. The project title is "Native Language Influence on Second Language Sound Categories." The host scientist is Dr. Taehong Cho. The proposed project examines how Korean listeners use different acoustic dimensions (voice onset time, stop closure duration, and pitch) to distinguish the three-way stop consonant contrast of Korean ([pul] 'fire' vs. [p*ul] 'horn' vs. [phul] 'grass'), as well as how these native language sound categories shape production and perception of the similar sound contrast ('pa' vs. 'ba') in English, their second language. The first set of experiments examines to what extent individual differences in native language 'cue weighting,' or the relative reliance on the different acoustic dimensions, correspond to differences in second language cue weighting (e.g. if a listener relies heavily on pitch to distinguish the contrast in Korean, they may be more likely to rely heavily on pitch when distinguishing the contrast in English as well, even though pitch is not a reliable cue for distinguishing the English contrast), as well as the stability of cue weighting strategies across speech perception and production. The second experiment explores factors contributing to the plasticity of these phonetic category boundaries (i.e. how easy it is to manipulate cue weighting strategies based on short-term training). The results of these studies will provide insight into the extent to which individuals differ in the structure and plasticity of sound categories in their native and second languages, as well as factors which influence responsiveness to training on foreign sound categories. Broader impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce. Furthermore, the project represents a two-way training opportunity in which the Fellow and the members of the lab at Hanyang University can share their different areas of expertise with one another in their collaborations, and in particular allows the Fellow to extend her dissertation research to a language that she would not otherwise be able to study in depth. The Fellow will disseminate the research at professional conferences, such that the results of the project, which should provide insight into how people learn foreign sound categories, will be made available to researchers working more directly on second language acquisition.