A Phonetic Study of the Consonants of Setswana and Sebirwa

茨瓦纳语和塞伯瓦语辅音的语音研究

• 批准号: 1052937
• 负责人: Elizabeth Zsiga
• 金额: $ 34万
• 依托单位: Georgetown University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-06-01 至 2014-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1052937&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Phonetic; Study; Consonants; Setswana; Sebirwa

Speech science bridges the gap between cognition and biology, investigating the mechanisms by which the abstract codes of human language are physically realized. The African languages Setswana and Sebirwa are particularly interesting test cases because they are reported to exhibit unusual consonants and consonant combinations, some of which are predicted by linguistic theory not to exist. This research project will investigate the consonant systems of Setswana and Sebirwa, using acoustic, perceptual, aerodynamic, and ultrasound techniques. The unusual sounds will be documented in order to test the accuracy of the general descriptions in the literature. The intellectual merit of the proposed research resides in the collection of new empirical data against which linguistic claims will be tested. The results of this research will have implications for theories of possible inventories of sounds, of the physical articulatory and acoustic bases of sound changes, of the way language is processed, and of the way sounds in sequence interact, both at the physical and cognitive levels.This project will provide new acoustic and articulatory data for one language with a number of typologically rare features (Setswana), and for a second for which no instrumental data is yet available (Sebirwa). The research will promote cooperation between Georgetown University and the University of Botswana. The research will also have a significant training component for both graduate and undergraduate student, and will contribute to the participation of under-represented groups in science by including several African women as researchers. More broadly, a better understanding of the interaction between the abstract speech code and the physical movements of articulators, in any one language and in languages in general, will lead to better models of language learning and teaching, and improved therapies for speech deficits.

言语科学弥合了认知与生物学之间的鸿沟，研究了人类语言的抽象守则实际上实现的机制。 Setswana和Sebirwa的非洲语言特别有趣，因为据报道它们表现出异常的辅音和辅音组合，其中一些由语言理论预测。该研究项目将使用声学，感知，空气动力学和超声技术研究Setswana和Sebirwa的辅音系统。为了测试文献中一般描述的准确性，将记录不寻常的声音。拟议研究的智力优点在于收集新的经验数据，将对语言主张进行测试。这项研究的结果将对声音的可能清单，物理发音和声音变化的声音库的理论产生影响（Sebirwa）。该研究将促进乔治敦大学和博茨瓦纳大学之间的合作。这项研究还将为研究生和本科生提供重要的培训组成部分，并通过包括几名非洲妇女作为研究人员，为代表性不足的科学群体的参与做出贡献。从更广泛的角度来看，对抽象语音代码与关节词的物理运动之间的相互作用（在任何一种语言和语言中）之间的相互作用将带来更好的语言学习和教学模型，并改善了语音缺陷的疗法。