Doctoral Dissertation Research: The role of tongue position in voicing contrasts in cross-linguistic contexts

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

There are many factors that cause speakers of multiple languages to be in contact in the United States. Many Americans are natively bilingual or multilingual speakers and many others study various languages as a second language. Also, speakers of different languages from other countries learn English when they come to the US. An important component of learning and using multiple languages is establishing the sound categories that are appropriate to each of the languages. Many languages use similar sounds, but how they are actually pronounced varies from language to language. This research will contribute to our understanding of how speakers of different languages facilitate their language's sound contrasts through dynamic tongue movement. By understanding the difference in tongue dynamics across languages, second language learners, instructors, and speech therapists can have a more detailed understanding of the phonetic differences between one's native language and target language, even when the two seem phonologically similar. This research focuses on how similar sounds across languages are articulated differently. For example, the consonant at the beginning of the word 'dog' in English ('d'), is similar to 'd' in Portuguese (e.g. 'dados'), but differences in the production of 'd' emerge when the two languages are examined closely. Portuguese 'd' is phonated, which means the vocal folds are vibrating while the tongue is constricted in the mouth to produce this sound, whereas English 'd' is often not phonated during tongue constriction. While the vibration of the vocal folds can be inferred through acoustic analysis, this current research asks what articulatory adjustments may be used in order to produce the acoustic differences that distinguish the production of similar sounds across languages. Articulations in the mouth can be observed using ultrasound imaging, revealing how the tongue moves to adjust the shape of the mouth. For example, we can see how the tongue position of English 'd' is different from that of Portuguese 'd', which may help us understand how phonation is achieved within this dynamic system. This study first focuses on how the phonetic target of voiced stops (such as the 'd' of English or Portuguese) in different languages compares acoustically and articulatorily, and second, how tongue position reflects different systems of voicing contrast by comparing six different languages: English, German, (Brazilian) Portuguese, Korean, Hindi, and Thai. The articulatory, acoustic and theoretical methods used to address this issue can be extended beyond the six languages covered in this study. The collective results in different languages can be applied to second language learning, with a more detailed account of consonant articulation across languages.