Perception of native consonant clusters with non-native phonetic patterns
Résumé
This study examines the role of native phonetic patterns in perception of word-initial consonant clusters. Specifically, we ask how phonotactically native CC clusters produced with atypical interconsonant timing patterns are perceived by native speakers of Georgian and French. Georgian permits more varied onset clusters than French, produced with a longer inter-consonant lag than in French. A Georgian native speaker and a French native speaker produced CCV and CVCV stimuli with their own native phonetic patterns. Listeners heard the stimuli in CCV-CVCV pairs, and determined whether the two sequences were the same or different. The results show that French listeners confused Georgian CCV with Georgian CVCV even when the clusters are legal in French. Furthermore, some Georgian listeners confused French CCV with French CVCV. These results suggest perception of foreign consonant clusters is guided not only by native phonotactics, but also by preferred inter-consonant timing patterns of the listeners' native language.
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)