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1. The Developmental Course of Lexical Tone Perception in the First Year of Life (EJ784556)
Author(s):
Mattock, Karen; Molnar, Monika; Polka, Linda; Burn, Denis
Source:
Cognition, v106 n3 p1367-1381 Mar 2008
Pub Date:
2008-03-00
Pub Type(s):
Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Peer-Reviewed:
Yes
Descriptors: Vowels; Tone Languages; Infants; Auditory Perception; French; Cognitive Development; Child Development
Abstract: Perceptual reorganisation of infants' speech perception has been found from 6 months for consonants and earlier for vowels. Recently, similar reorganisation has been found for lexical tone between 6 and 9 months of age. Given that there is a close relationship between vowels and tones, this study investigates whether the perceptual reorganisation for tone begins earlier than 6 months. Non-tone language English and French infants were tested with the Thai low vs. rising lexical tone contrast, using the stimulus alternating preference procedure. Four- and 6-month-old infants discriminated the lexical tones, and there was no decline in discrimination performance across these ages. However, 9-month-olds failed to discriminate the lexical tones. This particular pattern of decline in nonnative tone discrimination over age indicates that perceptual reorganisation for tone does not parallel the developmentally prior decline observed in vowel perception. The findings converge with previous developmental cross-language findings on tone perception in English-language infants [Mattock, K., & Burnham, D. (2006). Chinese and English infants' tone perception: Evidence for perceptual reorganization. "Infancy, 10"(3)], and extend them by showing similar perceptual reorganisation for non-tone language infants learning rhythmically different non-tone languages (English and French). Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
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2. Effect of Intensive Voice Treatment on Tone-Language Speakers with Parkinson's Disease (EJ778503)
Whitehill, Tara L.; Wong, Lina L. -N.
Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, v21 n11-12 p919-925 Nov 2007
2007-11-00
Descriptors: Sino Tibetan Languages; Intonation; Tone Languages; Diseases; Acoustics; Speech Therapy; Outcomes of Treatment; Foreign Countries
Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of intensive voice therapy on Cantonese speakers with Parkinson's disease. The effect of the treatment on lexical tone was of particular interest. Four Cantonese speakers with idiopathic Parkinson's disease received treatment based on the principles of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT). Outcome measures included perceptual measures and acoustic correlates of loudness, pitch, intonation, and tone (only intonation and tone are detailed in this study). All four participants demonstrated an increase in loudness, an increase in pitch and pitch range, and improved intonation during connected speech, as measured perceptually and acoustically. However, there were no obvious changes in the accuracy of lexical tone production, based on either phonetic transcription or acoustic analysis. The lack of improvement in lexical tones may support previous claims of a dissociation in fundamental frequency control for intonation and lexical tone production. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
3. Acoustic Analysis of Lexical Tone in Mandarin Infant-directed Speech (EJ768284)
Liu, Huei-Mei; Tsao, Feng-Ming; Kuhl, Patricia K.
Developmental Psychology, v43 n4 p912-917 Jul 2007
2007-07-00
Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Descriptors: Semantics; Cues; Syllables; Mandarin Chinese; Intonation; Acoustics; Tone Languages; Infants; Hypothesis Testing; Mothers; Phonetics
Abstract: Using Mandarin Chinese, a "tone language" in which the pitch contours of syllables differentiate words, the authors examined the acoustic modifications of infant-directed speech (IDS) at the syllable level to test 2 hypotheses: (a) the overall increase in pitch and intonation contour that occurs in IDS at the phrase level would not distort lexical pitch at the syllable level and (b) IDS provides exaggerates cues to lexical tones. Sixteen Mandarin-speaking mothers were recorded while addressing their infants and addressing an adult. The results indicate that IDS does not distort the acoustic cues that are essential to word meaning at the syllable level; evidence of exaggeration of the acoustic differences in IDS was observed, extending previous findings of phonetic exaggeration to the lexical level. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
4. Perception and Production of Lexical Tones by 3-Year-Old, Mandarin-Speaking Children (EJ742790)
Wong, Puisan; Schwartz, Richard G.; Jenkins, James J.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v48 n5 p1065-1079 Oct 2005
2005-10-00
Descriptors: Auditory Perception; Mandarin Chinese; Young Children; Tone Languages; Visual Stimuli; Comparative Analysis; Mothers; Phonetics; Correlation; Intonation
Abstract: The present study investigated 3-year-old children's perception and production of Mandarin lexical tones in monosyllabic words. Thirteen 3-year-old, Mandarin-speaking children participated in the study. Tone perception was examined by a picture-pointing task, and tone production was investigated by picture naming. To compare children's productions with the adult forms, 4 mothers of the children were asked to say the same set of words to their children in a picture-reading activity. The children's and mothers' productions were low-pass filtered at 500 Hz and 400 Hz, respectively, to eliminate segmental information. Ten Mandarin-speaking judges identified the productions of tones from the filtered speech. Adult productions were more accurately identified than productions of the children. The children perceived the level, rising, and falling tones with relatively high accuracy. The dipping tone posed the greatest difficulty for the children in both perception and production. (Contains 1 figure and 8 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
5. Integrating Culture and Second Language Teaching through Yoruba Personal Names (EJ687085)
Akinyemi, Akintunde
Modern Language Journal, v89 n1 p115-126 Mar 2005
2005-03-00
Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
No
Descriptors: Foreign Countries; Second Language Instruction; Cultural Traits; Language Teachers; African Languages; Etymology; Teaching Methods; Introductory Courses; Tone Languages
Abstract: Using Yoruba as a case study, this article demonstrates the fact that the languages of Africa and the cultures of its peoples are inseparable. Therefore, the study advocates that appropriate aspects of these cultures should form an integral part of African language teaching. This article discusses specifically how language teachers can transmit the cultural practices of the Yoruba people to students in the beginning foreign language classroom by teaching Yoruba personal names and the naming traditions of their culture. In other words, this study looks at the role that personal names play in understanding the culture of the Yoruba people. It argues that teaching Yoruba personal names should go beyond mere explanation of their meanings to include an exposition of the link between the names and their cultural content. Consequently, the study categorizes Yoruba personal names functionally, revealing the rules that govern the structure of these names and examining the cultural traits that are embedded in them. The article also recommends that teachers of beginning Yoruba explore the use of the tonal patterns in Yoruba personal names in order to introduce their students to the three tonal levels of the language. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
6. Evidence for Separate Tonal and Segmental Tiers in the Lexical Specification of Words: A Case Study of a Brain-Damaged Chinese Speaker (EJ730907)
Liang, Jie; van Heuven, Vincent J.
Brain and Language, v91 n3 p282-293 Dec 2004
2004-12-00
Descriptors: Case Studies; Females; Chinese; Neurological Impairments; Acoustics; Vowels; Suprasegmentals; Tone Languages; Brain
Abstract: We present an acoustic study of segmental and prosodic properties of words produced by a female speaker of Chinese with left-hemisphere brain damage. We measured the location of the point vowels /a, e, @?, i, y, o, u/ and determined their separation in the vowel plane, and their perceptual distinctivity. Similarly, the acoustic properties of the four lexical tones were measured in the F0 x time space. The data for our brain-damaged speaker were compared with those of a healthy control speaker. Results show that the patient's vowels hardly suffered from her lesion (relative to the vowel dispersion in the healthy control speaker), but that the identifiability of the four lexical tones was greatly compromised. These findings show that the tonal errors in aphasic speech behave independently of the segmental errors, even though both serve to maintain lexical contrasts in Chinese, and are therefore part of the lexical specification of Chinese words. The present study suggests that the specification of segmental and tonal aspects of lexical entries in Chinese, and in tone languages in general, are located or processed separately in the brain. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
7. Training English and Chinese Listeners to Perceive Thai Tones: A Preliminary Report (EJ686967)
Wayland, Ratree P.; Guion, Susan G.
Language Learning, v54 n4 p681-712 Dec 2004
Descriptors: Thai; Auditory Training; Tone Languages; Second Language Instruction
Abstract: The ability of native English (NE) and native Chinese (NC) speakers to identify and discriminate the mid-versus the lowtone contrast in Thai was investigated before and after auditory training. The variables under investigation were first language background and the interstimulus interval (ISI) of the presentation (500 ms vs. 1500 ms). The NC group outperformed the NE group in its ability to discriminate the two Thai tones under the ISI 500 ms condition before training and under both ISI conditions after training. A significant improvement in identification from the pretest to the posttest was observed in the NC group under both ISI conditions, but not in the NE group. These results suggest that prior experience with the tone system in one tone language may be transferable to the perception of tone in another language. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
8. The Role of Tone-Management in Improving Classroom Interaction in a Tertiary-Level EFL Teaching Context. (EJ668105)
Rubdy, Rani; Hui, Leng
English Teacher: An International Journal, v6 n1 p1-17 Mar 2003
2003-00-00
N/A
Descriptors: Classroom Communication; English (Second Language); Foreign Countries; Higher Education; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Tone Languages
Abstract: Investigates what constitutes effective and ineffective tone management in English-as-a-Foreign-Language classrooms with specific reference to tertiary level context in China. Findings indicate that effective tone management is likely to lead to a more congenial and contingent pattern of classroom interaction, where students become symmetrical discourse managers, contributing to authentic teacher-student talk and meaning negotiation. (VWL) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
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9. Perceptual Discrimination of Thai Tones by Naive and Experienced Learners of Thai. (EJ664623)
Wayland, Ratree; Guion, Susan
Applied Psycholinguistics, v24 n1 p113-29 Jan 2003
Descriptors: Auditory Perception; Prior Learning; Second Language Learning; Syllables; Thai; Tone Languages; Uncommonly Taught Languages
Abstract: Investigated the ability to discriminate the middle and low tone contrasts in Thai in two groups of native English speakers and a control group of native Thai speakers. The first group were native English speakers who had no prior experience with Thai, the second group were experienced learners of Thai. Variables included experience with Thai, discrimination of open versus closed syllables, and the interstimulus interval of the presentation. (Author/VWL) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
10. Tone Perception Ability of Cantonese-Speaking Children. (EJ669819)
Lee, Kathy Yuet Sheung; Chiu, Sung Nok; van Hasselt, Charles Andrew
Language and Speech, v45 n4 p387-406 Dec 2002
2002-00-00
Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Descriptors: Cantonese; Children; Comparative Analysis; Oral Language; Research Methodology; Speech Communication; Testing; Tone Languages
Abstract: Investigated a new research design for the collection of reliable tone perception data from found children, compared lexical and nonlexical items for testing tone perception ability, and identified the relative ease of perceiving the three basic tone contrasts in Cantonese--high level/high rising, high level/low falling, and high rising/low falling. (Author/VWL)
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