Acoustic distance effect on the perception of sibilants mergers between retroflexes and alveolars in Taiwan Mandarin (5aSC)
Acoustic distance effect on the perception of sibilants mergers between retroflexes and alveolars in Taiwan Mandarin (5aSC)
by Baichen Du, Department of Linguistics, University of Hong Kong
Overview:
A production and perception experiment investigated aspects of the Mandarin sibiliant merger and found:
- Lower center of gravity (COG) in production of all sibilants than previously reported
- Merger-in-progress of retroflexes and alveolars, conditioned by social factors
- A link between production and perception: Lower center of gravity in production than previous reports.
Implications on the cause of the merger and sound change:
- Listener-based sound change: Effects of environment on perception.
- Social effects of gender and region.
Future research may study the cause and exact structure of the merger, i.e., category shifting or expanding
