Segmental and suprasegmental features in speech perception inCantonese‐speaking second graders: AnERPstudy

Abstract

Using a multiple-deviant oddball paradigm, this study examined second graders' brain responses to Cantonese speech. We aimed to address the question of whether a change in a consonant or lexical tone could be automatically detected by children. We measured auditory mismatch responses to place of articulation and voice onset time (VOT), reflecting segmental perception, as well as Cantonese lexical tones including level tone and contour tone, reflecting suprasegmental perception. The data showed that robust mismatch negativities (MMNs) were elicited by all deviants in the time window of 300-500 ms in second graders. Moreover, relative to the standard stimuli, the VOT deviant elicited a robust positive mismatch response, and the level tone deviant elicited a significant MMN in the time window of 150-300 ms. The findings suggest that Hong Kong second graders were sensitive to neural discriminations of speech sounds both at the segmental and suprasegmental levels.

Asymmetries in the perception of Mandarin tones: Evidence from mismatch negativity.

“…There is a large body of MMN research on adult tonal processing in both Mandarin (Bidelman & Chung, 2015; Chandrasekaran, Krishnan, & Gandour, 2007, 2009; Chandrasekaran, Gandour, & Krishnan, 2007; Gu et al, 2012; Hsu, Lin, Hsu, & Lee, 2014; Li & Chen, 2015; Lu, Wayland, & Kaan, 2015; Luo et al, 2006; Ren, Yang, & Li, 2009; Wang, Gu, He, Chen, & Chen, 2012; Xi et al, 2010; H. Y. Zheng et al, 2014; among others) and Cantonese (Gu, Zhang, Hu, & Zhao, 2013; Jia, Tsang, Huang, & Chen, 2015; Law, Fung, & Kung, 2013a,b; Tong et al, 2014; Tsang, Jia, Huang, & Chen, 2011; H. Y. Zheng et al, 2014; among others).…”

“…nan, & Gandour, 2007nan, & Gandour, , 2009Hsu, Lin, Hsu, & Lee, 2014;Li & Chen, 2015;Lu, Wayland, & Kaan, 2015;Luo et al, 2006;Ren, Yang, & Li, 2009;Xi et al, 2010;H. Y. Zheng et al, 2014; among others) and Cantonese(Gu, Zhang, Hu, & Zhao, 2013;Jia, Tsang, Huang, & Chen, 2015; Law, Fung, & Kung, 2013a,b;Tong et al, 2014;Tsang, Jia, Huang, & Chen, 2011;H. Y. Zheng et al, 2014; among others).…”

A preliminary study of auditory mismatch response on the day of cochlear implant activation in children with hearing aids prior implantation

“…2) Differences between stimuli. The magnitude of the difference between the standard and deviant stimuli may induce different polarity of the difference wave [12, 15–16, 18–19]. Additionally, this study showed that the age at cochlear implantation was one influencing factor of the MMR polarity in children.…”

Integral perception, but separate processing: The perceptual normalization of lexical tones and vowels

“…The modified TRACE model, which tries to illustrate the perception process of tonal languages, holds that the mental representations of tonemes and phonemes are stored separately and are processed partially independently within their own pathways (Ye & Connine, 1999). However, a batch of studies (e.g., Choi et al, 2017;Shuai & Malins, 2017;Tong et al, 2014) observe similar processing patterns for lexical tones and vowels, pointing to the simultaneous access of these cues. The present study, which finds different time courses for lexical tone normalization and vowel normalization, supports the concept of separate processing of lexical tones and vowels in tonal languages.…”