Work

Speech rate and the perception of consonant and vowel length in Japanese: Neural entrainment and episodic memory

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Neural entrainment (the persistence of speech rhythm-dependent neural oscillations) and episodic memory-based perception (exemplar theory and belief-updating models) have been proposed to explain speech rate-dependent perception. To test these accounts, we examined the rate-dependent perception of Japanese vowel and stop length contrasts while varying speech rate by manipulating all segments, vowels only, or consonants only in the carrier sentence. Robust rate effects were observed across all conditions, consistent with the neural entrainment account. In addition, the manipulation method modulated rate effects for stops but not for vowels, offering partial support for the episodic account.

Source: JASA Express Letters

DOI: 10.1121/10.0041994

Authors: Timothy Gadanidis, Yoonjung Kang

Institutions: University of Toronto, University of Toronto Scarborough

Language: English

Topic: Phonetics and Phonology Research

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, University of Toronto Scarborough

Awards: G257603236, G6425776047