Perceptual effects on the interpretation of English stops by Taiwan Mandarin speakers

Abstract

Given relevant experimental evidence and language universals, this paper investigates the adaptation patterns of English stops in Taiwan Mandarin and argues in favor of the substantial existence of the perceptual phase in loanword adaptation, counter to Paradis & Tremblay’s (2009) phonological view on a similar issue. The statistically based results from a corpus of established loanwords support the view that interpretation of foreign stops is largely conditioned by a handful of perceptual factors, i.e., syllable position, aspiration and voicing, sonority, and the masking effect of [s]. These effects serve as part of the perceptual cues and function with the structural constraints at the level of perception, which generates an underlying representation that awaits evaluation at the level of production.