Session Perception VI:

Perception VI: Prosody Effects

Type: oral
Chair: Silvia Lipski
Date: Friday - August 10, 2007
Time: 09:00
Room: 4 (Green)

 

Perception VI-1 The processing of word stress: EEG studies on task-related components
Johannes Knaus, Institut für Germanistische Sprachwissenschaft, Philipps-Universität Marburg
Richard Wiese, Institut für Germanistische Sprachwissenschaft, Philipps-Universität Marburg
Ulrike Janßen, Institut für Germanistische Sprachwissenschaft, Philipps-Universität Marburg
Paper File
  The present paper reports results from three ERP studies showing components which reflect the processing of different word stress violations dependent on distinctive task properties (conscious vs. unconscious processing). The main findings were that the presentation of an incorrect stress pattern led to an N400-like component indicating increased costs in lexical retrieval. Such a component is not dependent on the task during the processing of stress violations. Furthermore, an enhanced positivity effect (P300) reflects a stress mismatch detection only if stress judgment was explicitly required in the task.
Perception VI-2 Discrimination of English intonation contours by native speakers and second language learners
Hyekyung Hwang, U. of Hawaii
Amy Schafer, U. of Hawaii
Victoria Anderson, U. of Hawaii
Paper File
  Previous work has shown that advanced Korean learners of English (L2ers) are less effective than native English speakers (L1ers) at using English intermediate phrases (ips) to establish syntactic boundaries [10]. This study investigated whether the effect is due to perceptual differences between L1ers and L2ers, based on the interplay between phonology and perception (e.g., [5], [8], [9]). L1ers and L2ers listened to pairs of phrases in an AX task that crossed boundary strength with intonational contour. Little variation was found between L1ers' and L2ers' discrimination patterns, which correlated highly with each other. Both groups were more sensitive to a falling vs. level contour contrast than a rising vs. level contrast (in the context tested) and were more responsive to contour contrasts than boundary strength contrasts. The results suggest that the L2ers' poor use of ips in comprehension likely rests primarily on difficulty with prosody-syntax mappings.
Perception VI-3 Segmental vs. Suprasegmental Processing Interactions Revisited
Satsuki Nakai, University of Edinburgh
Alice Turk, University of Edinburgh
Paper File
  This paper investigates processing interactions between segmental (stop place) vs. suprasegmental (prosodic boundary) information in English using a two-choice speeded classification procedure. The results suggest that due to the presence of the boundary tonal contour, intonational phrase-boundary information and stop-place information can be processed more independently than phrase-internal, word-boundary information and stop-place information can. Possible mechanisms underlying the observed separability of the two processes are discussed.

Back to Conference Schedule