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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology of Language
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1394309

Exploring the impact of tonal inventory on Speech Perception Across Languages: A Study of MMN Responses in Tonal Language Speakers

Provisionally accepted
Chun-Hsien Hsu Chun-Hsien Hsu 1*Tong-Hou Cheong Tong-Hou Cheong 1Wen-Chun Huang Wen-Chun Huang 2
  • 1 Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, College of Health Sciences and Technology, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
  • 2 Department of Hakka Language and Social Sciences, College of Hakka Studies, National Central University, Jhongli City, Taoyuan County, Taiwan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Previous research on the perception of segmental features of languages has established a correlation between the phoneme inventory of a language and its speakers' perceptual abilities, as indexed by discrimination tasks and Mismatch Negativity (MMN). Building on this background, the current study elucidated the relationship between perceptual ability and tonal inventory by utilizing two tonal languages. Two groups of participants were included in the present experiment: Mandarin speakers and Hakka-Mandarin speakers. Onset latency analysis revealed a significant difference in the Mandarin syllable condition, with Hakka-Mandarin speakers demonstrating earlier MMN latency than Mandarin speakers. This suggests a more efficient auditory processing mechanism in Hakka-Mandarin speakers. Both groups, however, showed similar MMN latency in the Hakka syllable condition. The interaction between language background and syllable type indicates that other factors, such as syllable sonority, also influence MMN responses. These findings highlight the importance of considering multiple phonemic inventories and syllable characteristics in studies of tonal perception.

    Keywords: MMN, Lexical tones, Tonal language, phonological inventory, Speech Perception

    Received: 01 Mar 2024; Accepted: 16 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hsu, Cheong and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Chun-Hsien Hsu, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, College of Health Sciences and Technology, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

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