動詞に接尾辞「-方」がついた形式でのアクセント変異の実態を『日本語話し言葉コーパス』の分析を通じて明らかにした。この形式に生じるアクセント変異には起伏化に向かうものと平板化に向かうものとがあるが，後者の方が生起率が高い。加えて，東京都出身者における平板化変異の生起率が約2割に留まるのに対して，京阪神出身者では5割以上にも及ぶ。この結果は，標準語を志向した発話においても母方言からの干渉が働いていることを示唆する。「-方」は標準語では式保存型形態素として働くが，近畿方言では平板化形態素として働く。東京話者との間で平板化率をめぐる顕著な格差が観察されたのは，こうした母方言のアクセント特性が干渉したことによるものと結論できる。

Convergence towards a surrounding speaker plays an important role in language acquisition in nature. It is also observed under a lab setting, and has been explored using listening or shadowing experiments in previous literature. The current study tests whether these two types of tasks cause different consequences. 16 Japanese English learners participated in either a listening or shadowing experiment, and imitated an American English speaker. Their productions of /p/ and /ɑ/ were acoustically analysed. Our statistical results suggest that a shadowing group imitates the model stimuli better with respect to /p/ than a listening group, whereas a listening group converges towards the model speaker further in relation to /ɑ/ than a shadowing group. This may be interpreted to mean that speech production is not only influenced by recently stored exemplars but also “awareness” of non-native speech sounds.

This article reports the results of an investigation into the phonetic correlates of the tonal inventory of the Mandarin dialect of Èzhōu. Our study focuses on the reflexes of the Middle Chinese (MC) qù (falling) tone, which has split into upper and lower-register rising tones in Èzhōu. This split as well as a distinct reflex for the MC entering (checked syllable) tone were identified by Chao et al. (1948) as defining characteristics of the Chǔyǔ dialects located in the southeastern region of the Mandarin speaking area.

This study investigates whether phonological short-term memory (PSTM) as a language learning aptitude can predict the second language (L2) pronunciation skills of Japanese students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). This study examines the effects of PSTM on a large sample of non-Indo-European language speakers, considers both verbal and acoustic aspects of PSTM, and employs L2 pronunciation variables focusing on sound reproduction skills by excluding the effects of L2 vocabulary and grammar knowledge. A total of 215 students participated in this study, and the results show that PSTM has significant positive effects on L2 sound reproduction skills.