Doctoral Dissertation Research: Doctoral Dissertation Research: Multilingualism, Phonation and Tone

博士论文研究： 博士论文研究：多语言、语音和声调

• 批准号: 2016008
• 负责人: Andrew Garrett
• 金额: $ 1.48万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-09-01 至 2022-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2016008&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Multilingualism; Phonation

Languages change naturally over time. Much linguistic work attempts to understand what gives rise to common patterns in language change. "Tonogenesis," the development of tone in a language, is one such change. In a tonal language, speakers use pitch to distinguish different words, for example, the word "kha" meaning "leg" when spoken with a rising pitch, but "kill" when spoken with a falling pitch. Tonogenesis is theorized to take place when pitch becomes a primary cue in a contrast. In order to understand tonogenesis, the co-PI, a doctoral student, will work with speakers of three endangered non-tonal languages spoken in a region where the dominant language is tonal. The contrast to be studied is voice quality, the distinguishing of words by the degree of constriction of the vocal folds. Manipulating voice quality modulates pitch as a secondary cue and this can lead to tonogenesis. The high-quality phonetic recordings from this project will be invaluable for advancing general understanding of voice quality and for the preservation and revitalization efforts in these language communities.Rapid modernization and centralization lead to greater usage of the dominant language at both the community and individual levels. Studying language usage in minority languages in such situations is crucial to understanding language change. The co-PI will carry out experiments in which speakers produce words differing in voice quality. When the dominant language is tonal, speakers who use it more and/or are more integrated into mainstream society are expected to weigh voice quality cues less heavily and pitch cues more heavily, laying the foundation for pitch to become a primary cue, and thus leading to tonogenesis. This study will provide a better understanding of language change and of cue weighting as a psychological process generalizable beyond language.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

语言随着时间的推移而自然变化。许多语言学著作试图理解是什么导致了语言变化的共同模式。“声调发生”，即语言中声调的发展，就是这样一种变化。在声调语言中，说话者使用音高来区分不同的单词，例如，单词“kha”在用升调说话时意味着“腿”，但在用降调说话时意味着“杀”。理论上，当音高成为对比中的主要线索时，音调发生。为了了解音调发生，合作PI，博士生，将与三个濒危的非音调语言的发言者在一个地区，其中占主导地位的语言是音调。要研究的对比是声音质量，即通过声带收缩的程度来区分单词。操纵音质调节音高作为次要线索，这可以导致音调发生。该项目的高质量语音录音将对促进对语音质量的普遍了解以及对这些语言社区的保存和振兴工作非常宝贵，迅速的现代化和集中化导致社区和个人两级更多地使用主导语言。 在这种情况下，研究少数民族语言的语言使用对于理解语言变化至关重要。合作PI将进行实验，其中扬声器产生不同音质的单词。当主导语言是音调时，使用它更多和/或更融入主流社会的说话者预计会更轻地权衡语音质量线索，而更重地权衡音高线索，为音高成为主要线索奠定基础，从而导致音调发生。这项研究将提供一个更好的理解语言的变化和线索加权作为一个心理过程概括超出language.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。