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4. Prosody and discourse structure in native and second language : hands on research using PRAATAlessandra Zappoli, 2022, published scientific conference contribution abstract Abstract: This course focuses on the interplay between the speech sciences and the cognitive sciences, addressing the processing and acquisition of prosodic contours in Second Language (L2) Learning.
We will introduce the theoretical framework of Autosegmental Metric Theory of Intonation and ToBI annotation, and we will cover the key notions of signal processing and speech analysis with a hands-on-research practical session, adopting the open-source software PRAAT.
Furthermore, we will present studies targeting the cross-linguistic production of prosodic contours, focusing on the production of native speakers and L2 learners.
Finally, we will address the behavioral and neurophysiological cognitive studies on the auditory processing of prosodic contours, targeting native speakers and L2 learners, and targeting the linguistic and paralinguistic function of pitch in speech. It is suggested to have a laptop and headphones, and to download the software PRAAT at one of the following links:
windows: http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/download_win.html
macintosh: http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/download_mac.html
linux: http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/download_linux.html
Keywords: speech, cognitive sciences, PRAAT, prosody, second language acquisition, autosegmental metric theory of intonation, hands-on research, multilingualism
Published in RUNG: 30.08.2022; Views: 2075; Downloads: 9
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5. Categorically perceiving vs. Categorizing while perceiving: The role of segments' recognition and lexical access while categorizing the pragmatic function of pitch movements in speech.Alessandra Zappoli, Cinzia Avesani, Massimo Grassi, Francesco Vespignani, 2022, published scientific conference contribution abstract Abstract: Speech perception studies have highlighted: i) auditory-articulatory mapping processes; ii) Categorical Perception (CP) (Liberman et al., 1967); iii) bottom-up formation of phonological categories through statistical learning; iv) top-down mechanisms shaping the perceptual space (Kuhl et al., 1992). Among several open questions, we focus on: i) the relation between speech perception features and other aspects of cognition involving categorization (Holt & Lotto,2010); ii) the cognitive mechanisms responsible for pitch categorization and discrimination in linguistic and non-linguistic contexts.
Pitch in speech is organized in phonological categories (Pitch Accents, Boundary Tones (BTs)) aligned to the text and conveys syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic information (Ladd, 1996). Perception of BTs has been found Quasi-Categorical (Schneider, 2012).
We investigated the presence of CP of BTs (Rising vs. Descending final contours) discriminating between questions and statements. In Italian, intonation alone can distinguish the two. We adopted a modified version of the CP paradigm and tested 34 participants in 2 groups, varying the linguistic segmental information. Group 1 saw: 1) existing words; 2) pseudowords; 3) pseudowords containing foreign phonemes; 4) masked segmental information (humming). Group 2 the reverse order.
Our results show that the pragmatic interpretation of the pitch contour is top-down activated and accessed on degraded linguistic material when stimuli are presented in the word-to-humming order, and bottom-up created through a categorization process in the humming-to-word order. The results also show that in absence of recognizable segmental information (humming), pitch shows to be categorized according to its acoustic properties, rather than on its function in speech.
Keywords: categorical perception, categorization, linguistic pitch categorization, pragmatic categorization of pitch contours, boundary tones, italian
Published in RUNG: 30.08.2022; Views: 2027; Downloads: 0
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6. Categorical Perception of a vowel contrast in native speakers and second language learners.Alessandra Zappoli, 2022, published scientific conference contribution abstract Abstract: The perceptual space of a speaker is shaped in infancy according to the phonological inventory of the L1. Phonological categories correlate with Categorical Perception (CP) and Perceptual Magnet (PM) effects, lowering the discrimination rate between the same category’s sounds and increasing it at the Category Boundaries (Liberman et al., 1967; Kuhl et al., 1992).
Second Language (L2) learning in adulthood requires creating new categories, some overlapping with the existing ones. When L2 and L1 categories overlap, the PM and CP effects might block the creation of the target L2 sounds, linked to Foreign Accented speech.
In this study, I investigate with the CP paradigm, the categorization, and discrimination of two German words: ʃɔːn] (‘already’) vs. [ʃøːn] (‘beautiful’) distinguished by a vowel contrast existing in German but not in Italian. I tested: i) 20 L1 speakers of German (L1); 34 L2 learners of German, L1 speakers of Italian – ii) 14 exposed to native speech (Tandem); iii) 18 not exposed to it; iv) 20 L1 speakers of Italian (Naïve). The oddball discrimination task presented the stimuli in 6 orders: AAB, ABA, ABB, BAA, BAB, BBA. L2 learners performed the LEXTALE in German (Lemhöfer & Broersma, 2012).
Results show that the categorization and discrimination performance linearly increase with language proficiency. Categorization only correlates with LEXTALE. Exposure to native speech is relevant. The presence of CP - as classically reported in the literature - is affected by the order of presentation of the stimuli in the oddball paradigm, emerging with BAB, ABA, BBA orders.
Keywords: vowel categorization, speech categorization, naive listeners, native speakers, L2 learners, categorical perception paradigm, perceptual space
Published in RUNG: 30.08.2022; Views: 2373; Downloads: 0
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7. All’interfaccia tra prosodia e struttura informativa : la realizzazione prosodica dell’informazione data in tedesco e in italiano L2Cinzia Avesani, Giuliano Bocci, Mario Vayra, Alessandra Zappoli, 2013, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: Germanic and Romance languages differ in the way they assign prosodic prominence within the domain of the utterance in the discourse structure. Italian relies on the hierarchical phonological structure and assigns the prosodic prominence to the metrical head on the right. On the other hand, German assigns prominence combining both the phonological structure and the pragmatic information, considering the degree of activation of a specific referent. Referents that have not been previously mentioned introduce New information in the discourse. New information is marked with prominent pitch patterns. On the contrary, referents that have been already mentioned are cognitively activated in the mind of the hearer and they represent Given information. Given information has been proven to be most frequently deaccented in Germanic languages. In this study, we show that native speakers of Italian, Second Language learners of German, show to have difficulties in the acquisition of the Deaccentuation pattern, and are affected by prosodic transfer from their L1. The L1 prosodic system not being sensitive to the pragmatic cues can assign prominence on a metrical head even if the referent is Given within Discourse. On the contrary, we show that native speakers of German, learning Italian as a second language show to acquire more easily the prosodic pattern of Italian.
Keywords: Pitch Accents, Prosody, L2 acquisition, Transfer, Given Information, Deaccenting, German, Italian
Published in RUNG: 12.01.2022; Views: 2433; Downloads: 0
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8. The mapping between prosody and information structure in German and in Italian L2 learners : who tranfers what?Cinzia Avesani, Giuliano Bocci, Mario Vayra, Alessandra Zappoli, 2013, published scientific conference contribution abstract Keywords: prosody, information status, german, italian, L2 acquisition, Deaccentuation
Published in RUNG: 14.12.2021; Views: 2286; Downloads: 41
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