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和生物学之间的差距，研究人类语言抽象代码的物理实现机制。非洲语言 Setswana 和 Sebirwa 是特别有趣的测试案例，因为据报道它们表现出不寻常的辅音和辅音组合，其中一些被语言理论预测为不存在。该研究项目将利用声学、感知、空气动力学和超声技术研究 Setswana 和 Sebirwa 的辅音系统。将记录不寻常的声音，以测试文献中一般描述的准确性。拟议研究的智力价值在于收集新的经验数据，以测试语言主张。这项研究的结果将对声音的可能清单、声音变化的物理发音和声学基础、语言处理方式以及声音顺序交互方式的理论产生影响，无论是在物理还是认知层面该项目将为一种具有许多类型学上罕见特征的语言（Setswana）提供新的声学和发音数据，并为尚未提供乐器数据的第二种语言（Sebirwa）提供新的声学和发音数据。该研究将促进乔治城大学和博茨瓦纳大学之间的合作。该研究还将为研究生和本科生提供重要的培训内容，并将通过包括几名非洲女性作为研究人员来促进代表性不足的群体参与科学。更广泛地说，更好地理解任何一种语言和一般语言中抽象语音代码与发音器官的物理运动之间的相互作用，将导致更好的语言学习和教学模型，并改进言语缺陷的治疗方法。