Doctoral Dissertation Research: The role of tongue position in voicing contrasts in cross-linguistic contexts

有许多因素导致说多种语言的人在美国接触。许多美国人的母语是双语或多语，还有许多人将各种语言作为第二语言学习。此外，来自其他国家的不同语言的人在来到美国时学习英语。学习和使用多种语言的一个重要组成部分是建立适合每种语言的声音类别。许多语言使用类似的声音，但它们的实际发音因语言而异。这项研究将有助于我们了解不同语言的说话人如何通过动态舌头运动促进他们的语言的声音对比。通过了解不同语言之间的舌头动力学差异，第二语言学习者，教师和语言治疗师可以更详细地了解母语和目标语之间的语音差异，即使两者在语音上相似。本研究主要关注不同语言之间相似的声音如何以不同的方式表达。例如，英语中单词“dog”开头的辅音（“d”）与葡萄牙语中的“d”相似（例如“dados”），但当仔细检查这两种语言时，“d”的产生就会出现差异。葡萄牙语中的“d”是发音的，这意味着当舌头在口中收缩时声带会振动以产生这个声音，而英语中的“d”在舌头收缩时通常不会发音。虽然声带的振动可以通过声学分析来推断，但目前的研究询问可以使用什么样的发音调整来产生声学差异，以区分不同语言中类似声音的产生。使用超声波成像可以观察口腔中的发音，揭示舌头如何移动以调整口腔的形状。例如，我们可以看到英语“d”的舌头位置与葡萄牙语“d”的舌头位置是如何不同的，这可能有助于我们理解在这个动态系统中如何实现发音。本研究首先探讨不同语言中浊塞音（如英语或葡萄牙语的"d"）的语音目标在声学和发音上的比较，其次通过比较英语、德语、（巴西）葡萄牙语、韩语、印地语和泰语六种不同语言，探讨舌位如何反映不同的浊塞音对比系统。用于解决这一问题的发音，声学和理论方法可以扩展到本研究所涵盖的六种语言之外。不同语言的集体结果可以应用于第二语言学习，更详细地说明跨语言的辅音发音。

There are many factors that cause speakers of multiple languages to be in contact in the United States. Many Americans are natively bilingual or multilingual speakers and many others study various languages as a second language. Also, speakers of different languages from other countries learn English when they come to the US. An important component of learning and using multiple languages is establishing the sound categories that are appropriate to each of the languages. Many languages use similar sounds, but how they are actually pronounced varies from language to language. This research will contribute to our understanding of how speakers of different languages facilitate their language's sound contrasts through dynamic tongue movement. By understanding the difference in tongue dynamics across languages, second language learners, instructors, and speech therapists can have a more detailed understanding of the phonetic differences between one's native language and target language, even when the two seem phonologically similar.This research focuses on how similar sounds across languages are articulated differently. For example, the consonant at the beginning of the word 'dog' in English ('d'), is similar to 'd' in Portuguese (e.g. 'dados'), but differences in the production of 'd' emerge when the two languages are examined closely. Portuguese 'd' is phonated, which means the vocal folds are vibrating while the tongue is constricted in the mouth to produce this sound, whereas English 'd' is often not phonated during tongue constriction. While the vibration of the vocal folds can be inferred through acoustic analysis, this current research asks what articulatory adjustments may be used in order to produce the acoustic differences that distinguish the production of similar sounds across languages. Articulations in the mouth can be observed using ultrasound imaging, revealing how the tongue moves to adjust the shape of the mouth. For example, we can see how the tongue position of English 'd' is different from that of Portuguese 'd', which may help us understand how phonation is achieved within this dynamic system. This study first focuses on how the phonetic target of voiced stops (such as the 'd' of English or Portuguese) in different languages compares acoustically and articulatorily, and second, how tongue position reflects different systems of voicing contrast by comparing six different languages: English, German, (Brazilian) Portuguese, Korean, Hindi, and Thai. The articulatory, acoustic and theoretical methods used to address this issue can be extended beyond the six languages covered in this study. The collective results in different languages can be applied to second language learning, with a more detailed account of consonant articulation across languages.