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Features are phonological transforms of natural boundaries

Abstract

Features are differential units: not categories but differences between categories. Starting from the differential nature of the features, the best candidates for instantiating them are the perceptual boundaries evidenced in the study of speech. We showed that place-of-articulation perception is based on psychoacoustic boundaries in the neutral vocalic context. Also, we found that the contextual changes of the place boundaries follow a radial movement around a central point corresponding to the neutral vowel. Further, the perceptual boundaries relative to vowel and consonant place of articulation contrasts coincided after rotation of the acoustic space. Taken together these findings suggest that place perception refers to a “Radial” representation of the vocal tract with psychoacoustic boundaries as central reference. Keywords: feature; boundary; rotation; invariance; isotropy

Abstract

Features are differential units: not categories but differences between categories. Starting from the differential nature of the features, the best candidates for instantiating them are the perceptual boundaries evidenced in the study of speech. We showed that place-of-articulation perception is based on psychoacoustic boundaries in the neutral vocalic context. Also, we found that the contextual changes of the place boundaries follow a radial movement around a central point corresponding to the neutral vowel. Further, the perceptual boundaries relative to vowel and consonant place of articulation contrasts coincided after rotation of the acoustic space. Taken together these findings suggest that place perception refers to a “Radial” representation of the vocal tract with psychoacoustic boundaries as central reference. Keywords: feature; boundary; rotation; invariance; isotropy

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Obituary ix
  4. List of contributors xiii
  5. Part I. Introduction
  6. Editors’ overview 3
  7. Part II. General and cognitive issues
  8. Features, segments, and the sources of phonological primitives 15
  9. Feature economy in natural, random, and synthetic inventories 43
  10. Part III. Acoustic and articulatory bases of features
  11. Sound systems are shaped by their users 67
  12. What features underline the /s/ vs. /s’/ contrast in Korean? 99
  13. Automaticity vs. feature-enhancement in the control of segmental F0 131
  14. Part IV. Extracting features from the signal
  15. Categorization and features 175
  16. Features as an emergent product of computing perceptual cues relative to expectations 197
  17. Features are phonological transforms of natural boundaries 237
  18. Part V. Features in phonological development
  19. Features in child phonology 261
  20. Phonological features in infancy 303
  21. Acoustic cues to stop-coda voicing contrasts in the speech of 2-3-year-olds learning American English 327
  22. Language index 343
  23. Subject index 345
Where Do Phonological Features Come From?
This chapter is in the book Where Do Phonological Features Come From?
https://doi.org/10.1075/lfab.6.09ser

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Obituary ix
  4. List of contributors xiii
  5. Part I. Introduction
  6. Editors’ overview 3
  7. Part II. General and cognitive issues
  8. Features, segments, and the sources of phonological primitives 15
  9. Feature economy in natural, random, and synthetic inventories 43
  10. Part III. Acoustic and articulatory bases of features
  11. Sound systems are shaped by their users 67
  12. What features underline the /s/ vs. /s’/ contrast in Korean? 99
  13. Automaticity vs. feature-enhancement in the control of segmental F0 131
  14. Part IV. Extracting features from the signal
  15. Categorization and features 175
  16. Features as an emergent product of computing perceptual cues relative to expectations 197
  17. Features are phonological transforms of natural boundaries 237
  18. Part V. Features in phonological development
  19. Features in child phonology 261
  20. Phonological features in infancy 303
  21. Acoustic cues to stop-coda voicing contrasts in the speech of 2-3-year-olds learning American English 327
  22. Language index 343
  23. Subject index 345
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