Nahyun Kwon - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Nahyun Kwon
i-Perception, 2019
We tested the influence of perceptual features on semantic associations between the acoustic char... more We tested the influence of perceptual features on semantic associations between the acoustic characteristics of vowels and the notion of size. To this end, we designed an experiment in which we manipulated size on two dissociable levels: the physical size of the pictures presented during the experiment (perceptual level) and the implied size of the objects depicted in the pictures (semantic level). Participants performed an Implicit Association Test in which the pictures of small objects were larger than those of large objects-that is, the actual size ratio on the semantic level was inverted on the perceptual level. Our results suggest that participants matched visual and acoustic stimuli in accordance with the content of the pictures (i.e., the inferred size of the depicted object), whereas directly perceivable features (i.e., the physical size of the picture) had only a marginal influence on participants' performance. Moreover, as the experiment has been conducted at two different sites (Japan and Germany), the results also suggest that the participants' cultural background or mother tongue had only a negligible influence on the effect. Our results, therefore, support the assumption that associations across sensory modalities can be motivated by the semantic interpretation of presemantic stimuli.
Journal of East Asian Linguistics, 2019
Building on Childs’s (Pragmat Soc 5(3):341–354, 2014) proposal that skewed phonotactic distributi... more Building on Childs’s (Pragmat Soc 5(3):341–354, 2014) proposal that skewed phonotactic distributions provide a legitimate resource for expressiveness in ideophones, often described as iconic words, this study examines whether there are differences in element ordering between ideophonic echo-words and prosaic dvandva compounds, with special reference to Korean and Japanese. Measured against Cooper and Ross’s (in: Papers from the parasession on functionalism, Chicago Linguistic Society, Chicago, pp 63–111, 1975) claimed-to-be-universal phonological constraints for the ordering of conjoined elements pertaining to element-initial consonants and vowels, the study reveals that both Korean and Japanese data comply with the constraints in general. However, in Korean, echo-words are significantly different from dvandva compounds in their compliance with the consonant constraint while they are not so with the vowel constraint. In reverse, echo-words and dvandva compounds in Japanese show a significant difference in their compliance with the vowel constraint but not with the consonant constraint. The findings provide quantitative evidence for the cross-linguistic applicability of the proposed phonological principles for element ordering and the language-specific phonotactic deviance of ideophones vis-à-vis the matrix language for the preferred ordering patterns.
This paper aims to establish connections between the following phenomena pertaining to Korean ide... more This paper aims to establish connections between the following phenomena pertaining to Korean ideophonic vowel harmony: a set of vowel patterns classified (phonologically) as " harmonic " , " neutral " , and " disharmonic " ; a set of ideophones classified (semantically) as onomatopoeic vs. cross-modal; and a set of form-meaning mappings classified (semiotically) as higher vs. lower in iconicity. Onomatopoeic ideophones represent sounds in the external world by linguistic sounds. To do so effectively requires taking whatever phonological and phonotactic liberties are needed. This predicts that (i) onomatopoeic ideophones will show great diversity in harmony patterns and, in contrast, (ii) cross-modal ideophones that capture sensory imagery by using more abstract iconic mappings (Dingemanse et al., 2016) will have more 'room' to conform to vowel harmony. To test these hypotheses, the distribution of harmony patterns in onomatopoeic vs. cross-modal ideophones was examined, using a written corpus of Korean ideophonic stems. The results supported the hypotheses by revealing that onomatopoeic ideophones are skewed towards a larger proportion of disharmonic forms compared to cross-modal ideophones.
This paper empirically examines possible differences in the productivity of total reduplication i... more This paper empirically examines possible differences in the productivity of total reduplication in the ideophonic versus prosaic lexicon in the Japanese language, through use of a ‘wug’ test. The finding reveals that the distributional fact that reduplication in the prosaic lexicon does not occur as frequently as in the ideophonic lexicon is not clearly parallel to the true productivity of ideophonic and prosaic reduplications. Productivity of ideophonic reduplication in the context of enhanced intensity was not significantly different from the productivity of prosaic reduplication in the contexts of plurality and distribution. By characterizing the relative roles of type frequency and other derivational options in determining degrees of the productivity of reduplicative processes, this paper provides an attenuated version of the Network Morphology-based account for the current result.
Cross-linguistically, reduplication associated with iconic readings, such as plurality, iteration... more Cross-linguistically, reduplication associated with iconic readings, such as plurality, iteration, and continuation, is prevalent in ideophones. However, not all reduplicative processes in ideophones are clearly iconic. Notably, both less and more iconic uses of reduplication are encountered in ordinary vocabulary resulting in the overlapping semantic functions of reduplication between ideophonic and non-ideophonic (i.e., prosaic) lexical categories. Given this, the aim of this paper is not to establish one clear-cut point to distinguish ideophonic reduplication from prosaic reduplication that may be impossible, but to specify dimensions of possibilities along which several instances of ideophonic and prosaic reduplication can be calibrated, using Canonical). The current paper adopts the canonical approach of typology in an innovative way – not to compare a reduplicative phenomenon across languages (classic " typology "), but within a language by drawing ideophonic and prosaic data from Japanese, which is rich in reduplication and ideophones. Measuring the canonicity values of the various occurring types of ideophonic and prosaic reduplication against six criteria for canonical ideophonic reduplication, this paper shows how many and what criteria can differentiate the two sets of phenomena. Consequently, it reveals how ideophonic and prosaic reduplication are alike or different from each other. It also demonstrates the utility of Localized Canonical Typology, for the precise description and analysis of complex categories in a single language.
This paper aims to reveal to what extent the diagrammatic iconicity (i.e., form-meaning correspon... more This paper aims to reveal to what extent the diagrammatic iconicity (i.e., form-meaning correspondences which are created by relating similar sets of forms with similar sets of meanings [Peirce, 1955, p. 104]) of English phonaesthemes (e.g., gl-in glitter, glisten, and glow) could manifest primary iconicity (i.e., iconicity that involves a sufficient similarity between sign and referent to allow the understanding that the former stands for the latter [Sonesson, 1997]). To serve the aim, the current research conducts a test, using a multiple-choice task in which groups of native English and Korean speakers choose the meanings of phonaesthemes in sets of aurally-presented nonsense English phonaesthemic words. If primary iconicity is carried by a phonaestheme, then both native and non-native listeners should be able to report with some consistency the putative meaning of the nonsense phonaesthemic words. If, on the other hand, a form-meaning correspondence is carried by secondary iconicity (where the existence of the sign-relation, given by convention or by being explicitly pointed out, is the precondition for noticing the similarity between sign and referent [Sonesson, 1997]), then neither language group is expected to deliver high correct guessing rates. The result showed that the purported meanings of sk-and tw-were correctly guessed by the Korean-speaking participants only, and those of cl-, gl-, sw-, gr-, sn-, and sq-were correctly guessed by the English-speaking participants only. The purported meanings of sp-and tr-were correctly guessed by neither language group. These findings show that individual phonaesthemes possess varying degrees of (primary) iconicity.
This dissertation examines systematic sound-meaning correspondences in sound-symbolic words from ... more This dissertation examines systematic sound-meaning correspondences in sound-symbolic words from a cross-linguistic perspective, investigating whether and to what degree they are naturally motivated. Its aims are to assess empirical evidence for the Explanatory Sound-symbolism Hypothesis (ESH): that sound symbolism is primarily governed by natural motivation, in particular, by a connection between human perceptual and language systems. The languages examined are Korean and English, which are genealogically unrelated.
Morphology 25.1, pp1-27, 2015
Debate over whether phonaesthemes are part of morphology has been long and inconclusive. We conte... more Debate over whether phonaesthemes are part of morphology has been long and inconclusive. We contend that this is because the properties that characterise individual phonaesthemes and those that characterise individual morphological units are neither sufficiently disjunct nor sufficiently overlapping to furnish a clear answer, unless resort is made to relatively aprioristic exclusions from the set of ‘relevant’ data, in which case the answers follow directly and uninterestingly from initial assumptions. In response, we pose the question: ‘According to what criteria, if any, do phonaesthemes distinguish themselves from non-phonaesthemic, stem-building elements?’, and apply the methods of Canonical Typology to seek answers. Surveying the literature, we formulate seven canonical criteria, identifying individual phonaesthemes which are more, or less, canonical according to each. We next apply the same criteria to assess non-phonaesthemic stem-building elements. The result is that just one criterion emerges which clearly differentiates the two sets of phenomena, namely the canonical accompaniment of phonaesthemes by non-recurrent residues, and this finding is not predetermined by our assumptions. From the viewpoint of morphological theory more broadly, we assume that any viable theory must find a place for lexical stems which are composed of a recurring, sound-meaning pairing plus a non-recurrent residue. Most phonaesthemes will occur in such stems. Consequently, theoretically interesting questions can then be asked about this entire class of lexical stems, including but not limited to its phonaesthemic members. Whether they are ‘part of morphology’ or not, phonaesthemes can contribute coherently to the development of morphological theory.
J Hay and E Parnell (eds) Proceedings of the 15th Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology, Christchurch, New Zealand, December 2-5 2014.
Korean is well-known for its rich inventory of sound-symbolic words, ideophones, where three diff... more Korean is well-known for its rich inventory of sound-symbolic words, ideophones, where three different laryngeal settings of the syllable-initial stop change to connote different degrees of intensity. In order to examine to what degree the observed iconic relations in Korean ideophones are naturally motivated, English speakers were asked to guess the relevant connotations of nonsense Korean ideophonic pairs which contrasted the laryngeal settings in word-initial stops. The result indicates that English-speaking listeners did not show a strong sensitivity towards the expected semantic effect of the stop alternation. This supports a conclusion that Korean consonantal symbolism is largely established by convention.
While the two-way voicing contrast of English stops can be distinguished by VOT alone, the three-... more While the two-way voicing contrast of English stops can be distinguished by VOT alone, the three-way laryngeal contrast of Korean stops requires additional acoustic parameter, f0, together with VOT for its realization . The distinct acoustic characteristics of the Korean and English stops may create difficulties in English speakers' discrimination of the non-native Korean contrasts. To confirm this hypothesis, the current study examines English speakers' discrimination of a three-way laryngeal distinction of Korean stops /p t k/ in the word-initial position of disyllabic minimal pairs. The result supports the hypothetical link between acoustic patterns and perceptual discrimination to a large extent by displaying a relatively low correct discrimination level on the lenis-fortis contrast. This leads to a conclusion that f0 is as important as VOT for non-native listeners to fully perceive the three-way contrast of Korean stops.
The main goal of the present study is to examine the impact of inter-language connected speech pr... more The main goal of the present study is to examine the impact of inter-language connected speech processes (ICSP’s) in native-listener perceptions of the degree of foreign accent and speech intelligibility of Korean learners of English.
SLaTE 2009 ISCA …, Jan 1, 2009
The STRAIGHT system of voice morphing was used to create voice continua of (Korean) accented Aust... more The STRAIGHT system of voice morphing was used to create voice continua of (Korean) accented Australian English, intended to simulate phonetic variation ranging from 'heavily accented' to 'unaccented' (native-like) Australian English, employing dimensions of intra-speaker and cross-speaker variation to yield a range of synthetic voices. These synthetic voices were evaluated against actual samples of Korean accented English, both re-synthesized and non-re-synthesized, in a series of three perceptual rating experiments by native listeners of Australian English. The questions of central interest in this preliminary investigation are: (a) the method of creating the phonetic continua and the respective roles of intra-versus cross-speaker variability in simulating degrees of foreign accent, (b) the success of the STRAIGHT method for creating hybrid voices, compared with 'natural' tokens of accented utterances, and (c) the impact of the re-synthesis method (required for voice morphing) upon perceptual ratings of foreign accent by native listeners. The ultimate objective of this research is to assess the impact of segmental and prosodic features on the perception of foreign accent and intelligibility of L2 learners' speech, where the source (Korean) and target (English) languages pose significant difficulties of segmental and prosodic transfer.
i-Perception, 2019
We tested the influence of perceptual features on semantic associations between the acoustic char... more We tested the influence of perceptual features on semantic associations between the acoustic characteristics of vowels and the notion of size. To this end, we designed an experiment in which we manipulated size on two dissociable levels: the physical size of the pictures presented during the experiment (perceptual level) and the implied size of the objects depicted in the pictures (semantic level). Participants performed an Implicit Association Test in which the pictures of small objects were larger than those of large objects-that is, the actual size ratio on the semantic level was inverted on the perceptual level. Our results suggest that participants matched visual and acoustic stimuli in accordance with the content of the pictures (i.e., the inferred size of the depicted object), whereas directly perceivable features (i.e., the physical size of the picture) had only a marginal influence on participants' performance. Moreover, as the experiment has been conducted at two different sites (Japan and Germany), the results also suggest that the participants' cultural background or mother tongue had only a negligible influence on the effect. Our results, therefore, support the assumption that associations across sensory modalities can be motivated by the semantic interpretation of presemantic stimuli.
Journal of East Asian Linguistics, 2019
Building on Childs’s (Pragmat Soc 5(3):341–354, 2014) proposal that skewed phonotactic distributi... more Building on Childs’s (Pragmat Soc 5(3):341–354, 2014) proposal that skewed phonotactic distributions provide a legitimate resource for expressiveness in ideophones, often described as iconic words, this study examines whether there are differences in element ordering between ideophonic echo-words and prosaic dvandva compounds, with special reference to Korean and Japanese. Measured against Cooper and Ross’s (in: Papers from the parasession on functionalism, Chicago Linguistic Society, Chicago, pp 63–111, 1975) claimed-to-be-universal phonological constraints for the ordering of conjoined elements pertaining to element-initial consonants and vowels, the study reveals that both Korean and Japanese data comply with the constraints in general. However, in Korean, echo-words are significantly different from dvandva compounds in their compliance with the consonant constraint while they are not so with the vowel constraint. In reverse, echo-words and dvandva compounds in Japanese show a significant difference in their compliance with the vowel constraint but not with the consonant constraint. The findings provide quantitative evidence for the cross-linguistic applicability of the proposed phonological principles for element ordering and the language-specific phonotactic deviance of ideophones vis-à-vis the matrix language for the preferred ordering patterns.
This paper aims to establish connections between the following phenomena pertaining to Korean ide... more This paper aims to establish connections between the following phenomena pertaining to Korean ideophonic vowel harmony: a set of vowel patterns classified (phonologically) as " harmonic " , " neutral " , and " disharmonic " ; a set of ideophones classified (semantically) as onomatopoeic vs. cross-modal; and a set of form-meaning mappings classified (semiotically) as higher vs. lower in iconicity. Onomatopoeic ideophones represent sounds in the external world by linguistic sounds. To do so effectively requires taking whatever phonological and phonotactic liberties are needed. This predicts that (i) onomatopoeic ideophones will show great diversity in harmony patterns and, in contrast, (ii) cross-modal ideophones that capture sensory imagery by using more abstract iconic mappings (Dingemanse et al., 2016) will have more 'room' to conform to vowel harmony. To test these hypotheses, the distribution of harmony patterns in onomatopoeic vs. cross-modal ideophones was examined, using a written corpus of Korean ideophonic stems. The results supported the hypotheses by revealing that onomatopoeic ideophones are skewed towards a larger proportion of disharmonic forms compared to cross-modal ideophones.
This paper empirically examines possible differences in the productivity of total reduplication i... more This paper empirically examines possible differences in the productivity of total reduplication in the ideophonic versus prosaic lexicon in the Japanese language, through use of a ‘wug’ test. The finding reveals that the distributional fact that reduplication in the prosaic lexicon does not occur as frequently as in the ideophonic lexicon is not clearly parallel to the true productivity of ideophonic and prosaic reduplications. Productivity of ideophonic reduplication in the context of enhanced intensity was not significantly different from the productivity of prosaic reduplication in the contexts of plurality and distribution. By characterizing the relative roles of type frequency and other derivational options in determining degrees of the productivity of reduplicative processes, this paper provides an attenuated version of the Network Morphology-based account for the current result.
Cross-linguistically, reduplication associated with iconic readings, such as plurality, iteration... more Cross-linguistically, reduplication associated with iconic readings, such as plurality, iteration, and continuation, is prevalent in ideophones. However, not all reduplicative processes in ideophones are clearly iconic. Notably, both less and more iconic uses of reduplication are encountered in ordinary vocabulary resulting in the overlapping semantic functions of reduplication between ideophonic and non-ideophonic (i.e., prosaic) lexical categories. Given this, the aim of this paper is not to establish one clear-cut point to distinguish ideophonic reduplication from prosaic reduplication that may be impossible, but to specify dimensions of possibilities along which several instances of ideophonic and prosaic reduplication can be calibrated, using Canonical). The current paper adopts the canonical approach of typology in an innovative way – not to compare a reduplicative phenomenon across languages (classic " typology "), but within a language by drawing ideophonic and prosaic data from Japanese, which is rich in reduplication and ideophones. Measuring the canonicity values of the various occurring types of ideophonic and prosaic reduplication against six criteria for canonical ideophonic reduplication, this paper shows how many and what criteria can differentiate the two sets of phenomena. Consequently, it reveals how ideophonic and prosaic reduplication are alike or different from each other. It also demonstrates the utility of Localized Canonical Typology, for the precise description and analysis of complex categories in a single language.
This paper aims to reveal to what extent the diagrammatic iconicity (i.e., form-meaning correspon... more This paper aims to reveal to what extent the diagrammatic iconicity (i.e., form-meaning correspondences which are created by relating similar sets of forms with similar sets of meanings [Peirce, 1955, p. 104]) of English phonaesthemes (e.g., gl-in glitter, glisten, and glow) could manifest primary iconicity (i.e., iconicity that involves a sufficient similarity between sign and referent to allow the understanding that the former stands for the latter [Sonesson, 1997]). To serve the aim, the current research conducts a test, using a multiple-choice task in which groups of native English and Korean speakers choose the meanings of phonaesthemes in sets of aurally-presented nonsense English phonaesthemic words. If primary iconicity is carried by a phonaestheme, then both native and non-native listeners should be able to report with some consistency the putative meaning of the nonsense phonaesthemic words. If, on the other hand, a form-meaning correspondence is carried by secondary iconicity (where the existence of the sign-relation, given by convention or by being explicitly pointed out, is the precondition for noticing the similarity between sign and referent [Sonesson, 1997]), then neither language group is expected to deliver high correct guessing rates. The result showed that the purported meanings of sk-and tw-were correctly guessed by the Korean-speaking participants only, and those of cl-, gl-, sw-, gr-, sn-, and sq-were correctly guessed by the English-speaking participants only. The purported meanings of sp-and tr-were correctly guessed by neither language group. These findings show that individual phonaesthemes possess varying degrees of (primary) iconicity.
This dissertation examines systematic sound-meaning correspondences in sound-symbolic words from ... more This dissertation examines systematic sound-meaning correspondences in sound-symbolic words from a cross-linguistic perspective, investigating whether and to what degree they are naturally motivated. Its aims are to assess empirical evidence for the Explanatory Sound-symbolism Hypothesis (ESH): that sound symbolism is primarily governed by natural motivation, in particular, by a connection between human perceptual and language systems. The languages examined are Korean and English, which are genealogically unrelated.
Morphology 25.1, pp1-27, 2015
Debate over whether phonaesthemes are part of morphology has been long and inconclusive. We conte... more Debate over whether phonaesthemes are part of morphology has been long and inconclusive. We contend that this is because the properties that characterise individual phonaesthemes and those that characterise individual morphological units are neither sufficiently disjunct nor sufficiently overlapping to furnish a clear answer, unless resort is made to relatively aprioristic exclusions from the set of ‘relevant’ data, in which case the answers follow directly and uninterestingly from initial assumptions. In response, we pose the question: ‘According to what criteria, if any, do phonaesthemes distinguish themselves from non-phonaesthemic, stem-building elements?’, and apply the methods of Canonical Typology to seek answers. Surveying the literature, we formulate seven canonical criteria, identifying individual phonaesthemes which are more, or less, canonical according to each. We next apply the same criteria to assess non-phonaesthemic stem-building elements. The result is that just one criterion emerges which clearly differentiates the two sets of phenomena, namely the canonical accompaniment of phonaesthemes by non-recurrent residues, and this finding is not predetermined by our assumptions. From the viewpoint of morphological theory more broadly, we assume that any viable theory must find a place for lexical stems which are composed of a recurring, sound-meaning pairing plus a non-recurrent residue. Most phonaesthemes will occur in such stems. Consequently, theoretically interesting questions can then be asked about this entire class of lexical stems, including but not limited to its phonaesthemic members. Whether they are ‘part of morphology’ or not, phonaesthemes can contribute coherently to the development of morphological theory.
J Hay and E Parnell (eds) Proceedings of the 15th Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology, Christchurch, New Zealand, December 2-5 2014.
Korean is well-known for its rich inventory of sound-symbolic words, ideophones, where three diff... more Korean is well-known for its rich inventory of sound-symbolic words, ideophones, where three different laryngeal settings of the syllable-initial stop change to connote different degrees of intensity. In order to examine to what degree the observed iconic relations in Korean ideophones are naturally motivated, English speakers were asked to guess the relevant connotations of nonsense Korean ideophonic pairs which contrasted the laryngeal settings in word-initial stops. The result indicates that English-speaking listeners did not show a strong sensitivity towards the expected semantic effect of the stop alternation. This supports a conclusion that Korean consonantal symbolism is largely established by convention.
While the two-way voicing contrast of English stops can be distinguished by VOT alone, the three-... more While the two-way voicing contrast of English stops can be distinguished by VOT alone, the three-way laryngeal contrast of Korean stops requires additional acoustic parameter, f0, together with VOT for its realization . The distinct acoustic characteristics of the Korean and English stops may create difficulties in English speakers' discrimination of the non-native Korean contrasts. To confirm this hypothesis, the current study examines English speakers' discrimination of a three-way laryngeal distinction of Korean stops /p t k/ in the word-initial position of disyllabic minimal pairs. The result supports the hypothetical link between acoustic patterns and perceptual discrimination to a large extent by displaying a relatively low correct discrimination level on the lenis-fortis contrast. This leads to a conclusion that f0 is as important as VOT for non-native listeners to fully perceive the three-way contrast of Korean stops.
The main goal of the present study is to examine the impact of inter-language connected speech pr... more The main goal of the present study is to examine the impact of inter-language connected speech processes (ICSP’s) in native-listener perceptions of the degree of foreign accent and speech intelligibility of Korean learners of English.
SLaTE 2009 ISCA …, Jan 1, 2009
The STRAIGHT system of voice morphing was used to create voice continua of (Korean) accented Aust... more The STRAIGHT system of voice morphing was used to create voice continua of (Korean) accented Australian English, intended to simulate phonetic variation ranging from 'heavily accented' to 'unaccented' (native-like) Australian English, employing dimensions of intra-speaker and cross-speaker variation to yield a range of synthetic voices. These synthetic voices were evaluated against actual samples of Korean accented English, both re-synthesized and non-re-synthesized, in a series of three perceptual rating experiments by native listeners of Australian English. The questions of central interest in this preliminary investigation are: (a) the method of creating the phonetic continua and the respective roles of intra-versus cross-speaker variability in simulating degrees of foreign accent, (b) the success of the STRAIGHT method for creating hybrid voices, compared with 'natural' tokens of accented utterances, and (c) the impact of the re-synthesis method (required for voice morphing) upon perceptual ratings of foreign accent by native listeners. The ultimate objective of this research is to assess the impact of segmental and prosodic features on the perception of foreign accent and intelligibility of L2 learners' speech, where the source (Korean) and target (English) languages pose significant difficulties of segmental and prosodic transfer.