VOT in singaporean native languages and english

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am truly grateful to the many who have made this thesis possible I am especially indebted to: My supervisor, Dr Mark Donohue, for kindly taking me on as a supervisee midway and whose suggestions and patience I truly appreciate My ex-supervisor, Dr Lisa Lim, for starting me on this journey not so long ago and being with me each step of the way Dr Wee Lian Hee who kindly offered guidance and advice when I most needed it and whose zest for linguistics is infectious And The Potter, for making every single day a learning experience i CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i CONTENTS ii SUMMARY vii LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF FIGURES xii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Study 1.2 The Linguistic Situation Singapore 1.2.1 Language Contact and Substrate Influence 1.2.2 On Singapore English (SE) 1.3 1.4 A Survey of the Literature 1.3.1 Definitions Aspiration and Voicing 1.3.2 Relating Phonological Inventory to VOT 1.3.3 Singapore English (SE) 14 1.3.3.1 Tracing Substrate Influence in SE Ethnic Varieties 16 1.3.3.2 VOT in SE 16 Aims of Research CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Instrumental and Auditory Approach 20 22 22 ii 2.2 Data Collection 23 2.2.1 Speakers 23 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.3 Stop Inventories of English and the Singaporean Native Languages 26 Data Elicitation 33 2.2.3.1 Factors Affecting VOT 34 2.2.3.2 The Test Words 37 2.2.3.3 Carrier Frames—Formal Context 40 2.2.3.4 Reading Passages—Informal Context 41 2.2.4 Recording 42 Instrumentation and Measurement Techniques 44 2.3.1 44 Measuring VOT CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS 3.1 48 The Singaporean Native Languages 48 3.1.1 Measurements and Initial Findings 48 3.1.2 Observations 50 3.1.2.1 Stop Types of the Singaporean Native Languages 50 3.1.2.1.1 Mandarin Stop Types 51 3.1.2.1.2 Hokkien Stop Types 51 3.1.2.1.3 Cantonese Stop Types 52 3.1.2.1.4 Malay Stop Types 54 3.1.2.1.5 Tamil Stop Types 55 iii 3.1.2.2 VOT Ranges of the Contrasting Phonological Stops 3.1.2.2.1 Summarised Chart—Figure 3.4 3.1.2.2.2 Various Places of Articulation—Figures 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 3.1.2.3 Maximal Distinction 3.2 68 3.2.1 Measurements 71 3.2.2 Observations 72 3.2.2.1 Stop types of the SE Varieties 72 3.2.2.2 Inter-group Comparisons 74 3.2.2.2.2 Summarised Graphs—Figures 3.11 and 85 Various Places of Articulation—Figures 3.5 to 3.10 86 3.2.2.3 Looking at Substratum Influence 89 3.2.2.4 Looking at Substratum Influence and Formality level 102 Summary of the Chapter CHAPTER FOUR: PERCEPTUAL IDENTIFICATION TEST 4.2 64 71 3.12 4.1 58 Singapore English Varieties 3.2.2.2.1 3.3 57 105 107 On Speech Perception 108 4.1.1 Definition 108 4.1.2 Acoustic Cues to Voicing & the Role of Linguistic Experience 108 Methodology of the Perceptual Identification Test 113 iv 4.2.1 Respondents 115 4.2.2 115 The Stimuli 4.2.3 Procedure 116 4.3 Results of the Perceptual Test—Findings and Discussion 117 4.4 The Search for Other Acoustic Cues to Voicing 118 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS 128 5.1 Summary of Results 128 5.2 Aims Revisited 134 5.2.1 Singaporean Native Languages—Aim (i) 134 5.2.1.1 Phonological Stop Categories and VOT 134 5.2.1.2 Situating Findings of Singaporean Native Languages in Research Field 5.2.2 137 Singapore English—Aims (ii) and (iii) 141 5.2.2.1 Situating Findings of SE in Research Field 144 5.2.2.2 SE—A Unique and Systematic Variety 147 5.2.2.3 5.3 Future Work 149 5.4 Closing Remarks 149 REFERENCES 151 APPENDIX 1: Test Words 170 v APPENDIX 2: Carrier Frames and Word Lists 178 APPENDIX 3: Reading Passages 184 APPENDIX 4: Spectrograms and Waveforms of sample [+voice]{voiced} Stops of Hokkien and Malay 186 APPENDIX 5: Response Sheet for Perceptual Identification Test 191 vi SUMMARY This study attempts to shed light on how the realisation of stops is rule-governed by looking at Singapore, which is home to a variety of Sinitic, Austronesian, Indic and Dravidian languages Since there has been not much research done on the Singaporean native languages, this paper examines the Voice Onset Time (VOT) of the oral stops of Singaporean native languages—Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Malay and Tamil Languages differ in their phonological inventories and how the oral stops are distributed according to VOT (Ladefoged 2001a) This study thus documents the relation between VOT and the phonological inventories of the languages In addition, this paper aims to be a more comprehensive study on substratum influence in Singapore English (SE) by investigating both the VOT of oral stops of the above-mentioned Singaporean native languages as well as the SE varieties spoken by these speakers Formality level is believed to affect the extent of substratum influence and therefore this was also investigated as a possible factor Under conditions where speakers of various languages co-exist, there is inevitably language contact and SE is a contact variety SE is not a monolithic entity but exhibits group variation In addition to the attention that was put into designing the elicitation task so as to keep the factors affecting VOT constant, the amount of data collected and analysed was as much vii as possible given the time constraints of this dissertation The results were summarised and presented in charts and graphs for ease of comparisons The findings of this study suggest that phonological inventories of languages affect the realisation of the VOT of stops This relation however applies more to the [voice]{voiceless aspirated} stops than the other two stop types The Singaporean native languages in the study which contrast between this stop type and another keep them distinct while adhering to the “low-cost” option at the same time One significant finding of this study is that [-voice]{voiceless unaspirated} and [+voice]{voiced}/ {voiced} stops of the Singaporean native languages not differ significantly in terms of VOT In exploring how these two stops are distinguished, a perceptual identification test was conducted Further investigation showed that other cues besides VOT play a larger role in cuing the voicing contrast between them The SE varieties are similar in that their [-voice]{voiceless aspirated} stops are set apart from the other stop types and these stops have a similar target zone On the other hand, the contrast between the SE [-voice]{voiceless aspirated} stops and the other SE stop types is greater for the Chinese language speakers than the other speakers Although the VOT values of the [-voice]{voiceless unaspirated} and [+voice]{voiced}/{voiced} stops are similar for all the SE varieties, they are better distinguished in the case of the Tamil speakers In addition, this finding can also be explained through the substratist approach Therefore, SE is subjected to both superstrate and substrate influence The similarities viii amongst the SE varieties suggest the presence of pan-SE features while the differences point toward substrate influence ix LIST OF TABLES Page 1.1 Successful identification rates of ethnic groups of speakers 15 1.2 Summary of results on VOT/aspiration of previous studies on stops of SE ethnic varieties 19 Inventories of stops in the syllable-initial position in English and other Singaporean native languages Allophonic variations are also included in brackets 27 3.1 Group mean VOT values of the Mandarin stops 51 3.2 Group mean VOT values of the Hokkien stops 51 3.3 Group mean VOT values of the Cantonese 52 3.4 Group mean VOT values of the Malay stops 54 3.5 Group mean VOT values of the Tamil stops 55 3.6 Group mean VOT values of stops of the Singaporean native languages 58 3.7 Mean VOT values of stops of the SE varieties 73 3.8 Group Mean VOT values of the Singaporean native languages and their respective SE varieties; and the VOT difference between the stop types 74 4.1 Scores for instances of accurate identification 118 4.2 Duration of vowel following [-voice]{voiceless unaspirated} and [+voice]{voiced}stops in Hokkien 120 Duration of vowel following [-voice]{voiceless unaspirated} and [+voice]{voiced} stops in Malay 121 F1 onset frequency of vowel following [-voice]{voiceless unaspirated} and [+voice]{voiced} stops in Hokkien 123 F1 onset frequency of vowel following [-voice]{voiceless unaspirated} and [+voice]{voiced} stops in Malay 123 2.1 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 F0 of vowel following [-voice]{voiceless unaspirated} and [+voice]{voiced} stops in Hokkien 125 x 4.7 F0 of vowel following [-voice]{voiceless unaspirated} and [+voice]{voiced} stops in Malay 125 5.1 Summary of findings for each Singaporean native language group 129 5.2 Summary of inter-group comparisons for each stop type of the Singaporean native languages 130 5.3 Summary of findings for each SE variety 131 5.4 Summary of inter-group comparisons for each stop type of the SE varieties 133 xi LIST OF FIGURES Page 1.1 Diagram of the three phrases of a stop (Abercrombie 1967:140) 1.2 Difference in VOT of various languages (Ladefoged 2001a:128) 1.3 VOT ranges of stops from Stevens & Klatt (1974) and Docherty (1992) 10 2.1 Spectrograms showing influence of the phonological environment (Ladefoged 2001b:50) 33 2.2 Waveform and spectrogram showing negative VOT 45 2.3 Waveform and spectrogram showing zero VOT 46 2.4 Waveform and spectrogram showing positive VOT 46 3.1 VOT of the bilabial stops of the Singaporean native languages 60 3.2 VOT of the alveolar stops of the Singaporean native languages 61 3.3 VOT of the velar stops of the Singaporean native languages 62 3.4 Average VOT of the stops of the Singaporean native languages 63 3.5 VOT of the bilabial stops of the SE varieties under the formal context 77 3.6 VOT of the bilabial stops of the SE varieties under the informal context 78 3.7 VOT of the alveolar stops of the SE varieties under the formal context 79 3.8 VOT of the alveolar stops of the SE varieties under the informal context 80 3.9 VOT of the velar stops of the SE varieties under the formal context 81 xii 3.10 VOT of the velar stops of the SE varieties under the informal context 82 3.11 Average VOT of the SE varieties under the formal context 83 3.12 Average VOT of the SE varieties under the informal context 84 3.13 VOT of the bilabial stops of the SE varieties under the formal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 93 VOT of the bilabial stops of the SE varieties under the informal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 94 VOT of the alveolar stops of the SE varieties under the formal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 95 3.14 3.15 3.16 VOT of the alveolar stops of the SE varieties under the informal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 96 3.17 VOT of the velar stops of the SE varieties under the formal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 97 VOT of the velar stops of the SE varieties under the informal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 98 3.18 3.19 Average VOT of the SE varieties under the formal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 99 3.20 Average VOT of the SE varieties under the informal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 100 4.1 VOT boundaries of the stops in English, Spanish and Thai (Lisker & Abramson 1970) 110 Diagram of spectrogram and waveform showing vowels 119 4.2 xiii 4.3 Diagram showing measurement of F1 onset frequency of vowel 122 4.4 Diagram showing measurement of F0 at onset of vowel 124 5.1 VOT ranges of stops from the current and previous studies 135 5.2 VOT results of the bilabial stops of SE varieties of current and other studies 142 5.3 VOT results of the alveolar stops of SE varieties of current and other studies 143 5.4 VOT results of the velar stops of SE varieties of current and other studies 143 xiv [...]... and corresponding Singaporean native languages 93 VOT of the bilabial stops of the SE varieties under the informal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 94 VOT of the alveolar stops of the SE varieties under the formal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 95 3.14 3.15 3.16 VOT of the alveolar stops of the SE varieties under the informal context and corresponding Singaporean. .. corresponding Singaporean native languages 96 3.17 VOT of the velar stops of the SE varieties under the formal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 97 VOT of the velar stops of the SE varieties under the informal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 98 3.18 3.19 Average VOT of the SE varieties under the formal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 99... the Singaporean native languages 60 3.2 VOT of the alveolar stops of the Singaporean native languages 61 3.3 VOT of the velar stops of the Singaporean native languages 62 3.4 Average VOT of the stops of the Singaporean native languages 63 3.5 VOT of the bilabial stops of the SE varieties under the formal context 77 3.6 VOT of the bilabial stops of the SE varieties under the informal context 78 3.7 VOT. .. 1.2 Difference in VOT of various languages (Ladefoged 2001a:128) 8 1.3 VOT ranges of stops from Stevens & Klatt (1974) and Docherty (1992) 10 2.1 Spectrograms showing influence of the phonological environment (Ladefoged 2001b:50) 33 2.2 Waveform and spectrogram showing negative VOT 45 2.3 Waveform and spectrogram showing zero VOT 46 2.4 Waveform and spectrogram showing positive VOT 46 3.1 VOT of the bilabial... Average VOT of the SE varieties under the informal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 100 4.1 VOT boundaries of the stops in English, Spanish and Thai (Lisker & Abramson 1970) 110 Diagram of spectrogram and waveform showing vowels 119 4.2 xiii 4.3 Diagram showing measurement of F1 onset frequency of vowel 122 4.4 Diagram showing measurement of F0 at onset of vowel 124 5.1 VOT ranges...4.7 F0 of vowel following [-voice]{voiceless unaspirated} and [+voice]{voiced} stops in Malay 125 5.1 Summary of findings for each Singaporean native language group 129 5.2 Summary of inter-group comparisons for each stop type of the Singaporean native languages 130 5.3 Summary of findings for each SE variety 131 5.4 Summary of inter-group comparisons for each stop type of the... context 79 3.8 VOT of the alveolar stops of the SE varieties under the informal context 80 3.9 VOT of the velar stops of the SE varieties under the formal context 81 xii 3.10 VOT of the velar stops of the SE varieties under the informal context 82 3.11 Average VOT of the SE varieties under the formal context 83 3.12 Average VOT of the SE varieties under the informal context 84 3.13 VOT of the bilabial... measurement of F0 at onset of vowel 124 5.1 VOT ranges of stops from the current and previous studies 135 5.2 VOT results of the bilabial stops of SE varieties of current and other studies 142 5.3 VOT results of the alveolar stops of SE varieties of current and other studies 143 5.4 VOT results of the velar stops of SE varieties of current and other studies 143 xiv ... Categories and VOT 134 5.2.1.2 Situating Findings of Singaporean Native Languages in Research Field 5.2.2 137 Singapore English Aims (ii) and (iii) 141 5.2.2.1 Situating Findings of SE in Research... 3.2 VOT of the alveolar stops of the Singaporean native languages 61 3.3 VOT of the velar stops of the Singaporean native languages 62 3.4 Average VOT of the stops of the Singaporean native languages. .. formal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 93 VOT of the bilabial stops of the SE varieties under the informal context and corresponding Singaporean native languages 94 VOT of the