Predicting discrimination accuracy by assimilation pattern, overlap score, and acoustic properties
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: The Perceptual Assimilation Model (PAM) maintained that the discrimination accuracy of a non-native language can be predicted by its assimilation pattern from the non-native language to the native language (Best, 1991).However, previous empirical studies found deviations from PAM's predictions and the potential reasons were 1) sounds that were assimilated into multiple categories were defined as uncategorized sounds whose assimilation categories were overlooked;2) the criterion of categorization was arbitrary; 3) assimilation itself was not predictive and need to be supplemented by acoustic properties.In order to improve the accuracy of predicting discrimination, this study proposed three alternatives: 1) redefining PAM by redefining categorization: an L2 sound is considered 'categorized' if it is labeled as the same L1 category significantly above chance, whose level is determined by the number of native categories that differ from the target sound in no more than one articulatory feature; 2) using overlap score to measure the degree of overlap in the L1 assimilation categories quantitatively and inclusively; 3) adding acoustic properties to the predictors of the discrimination accuracy.30 first-year middleschool students from China participated in three experiments: 1) discriminating English contrasts /i/-/ɪ/; /eɪ/-/ɪ/; /ɛ/-/æ/; /ʊ/-/u/; 2) assimilating those English vowels into Mandarin categories; and 3) rating English vowels' goodness in the Mandarin categories.The result showed that although the adjustments to PAM allowed multiple-category assimilation, the existence of a cut-off threshold still led to an overlooking of L1 assimilation categories whose assimilation percentages were slightly lower the threshold.In contrast, the overlap score predicted the discrimination accuracy better than the assimilation pattern by PAM.Listeners were sensitive to the spectral difference, but not as much as the degree of assimilation overlap.
Author: Yuan Chai
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3164593922