Volume 60, Issue 2

In Kinyarwanda (Bantu, Rwanda), a high tone can occur on either the first or the second mora of a syllable. A study of f₀ timing in the language was undertaken to determine how such a contrast is realized phonetically, and how this realization is affected by phrase position, word position, and distance from a following high tone. The study also aimed to explore a reported effect of ‘tone anticipation’ (raising of pitch in a syllable before a high tone) in the language. The study found significant effects of the position of a tone within the syllable, its position within the phrase, and its position with respect to following high tones. Models of f₀ timing in Kinyarwanda are proposed, demonstrating the role of moras in phonetic implementation of tone. These models clarify issues regarding the phonological representation of tones in Kinyarwanda, and the division between phonetic patterns and phonological ones.

This study investigates vowel productions of 20 Quichua-Spanish bilinguals, differing in age of Spanish acquisition, and 5 monolingual Spanish speakers. While the vowel systems of simultaneous, early, and some mid bilinguals all showed significant plasticity, there were important differences in the kind, as well as the extent, of this adaptability. Simultaneous bilinguals dffered from early bilinguals in that they were able to partition the vowel space in a more fine-grained way to accommodate the vowels of their two languages. Early and some mid bilinguals acquired Spanish vowels, whereas late bilinguals did not. It was also found that acquiring Spanish vowels could affect the production of native Quichua vowels. The Quichua vowels were produced higher by bilinguals who had acquired Spanish vowels than those who had not. It is proposed that this vowel reorganization serves to enhance the perceptual distinctiveness between the vowels of the combined first- and second-language system.

English nonsense consonant-vowel-consonant syllables were presented at four different signal-to-noise ratios for recognition. Information theory methods are used to analyze the response data according to segment type and phonological feature, and are consistent with previous studies showing that the consonantal contrast of voicing is more robust than place of articulation, word-initial consonants are more robust than word-final consonants, and that vowel height is more robust than vowel backing. Asymmetrical confusions are also analyzed, indicating a bias toward front vowels over back vowels. The results are interpreted as parts of phonetic explanations for synchronic and diachronic phonological patterns.