The Role of Timing in Southern Min-accented Mandarin

• Main Authors: Yi-Ling Chung, 鍾伊玲
• Other Authors: James Myers
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/23588342699238903899

碩士 === 國立中正大學 === 語言學研究所 === 99 === This study is focused on timing in Southern Min-accented speech. According to Port and Leary (2005), language knowledge requires mastering the timing of speech gestures, so that accents come from mistiming in real-time speech. Thus, if we correct the mistiming of non-native speakers to “right” time, the perceived accent will decrease. In Experiment 1, we manipulated segment durations in phrases, and results showed that fitting the segment duration in phrases to a native speaker’s improved intelligibility. In Experiment 2, we manipulated segment durations in syllables, but found that the effect of duration isn’t relevant in syllable units, which implied that the processing of syllables is different from the processing of phrases. In Experiment 3, we adjusted the speaking rate of non-native speech in whole sentences to test the effect of large scale timing. Result showed that when we adjusted the speed of a non-native speaker, it affected how native-like they sounded to the native listeners. Overall, the findings of this work showed that how important the timing of articulatory gestures is in real-time, which supported Port and Leary’s (2005) claim.