Examination of Korean stop perception in Quebec French listeners through the lens of assimilation overlap

Abstract

This study assessed the perceptual assimilation model (PAM) predictions about assimilation types and discrimination performance through the lens of assimilation overlap in Quebec French listeners' perception of nine non-native Korean stop consonants. The consonants varied in voicing (fortis, lenis, and aspirated) and place of articulation (labials, coronals, and velars). In the identification experiment, the Korean three-way voicing contrasts were found to undergo an assimilation overlap to correspond to the French two-way equivalent contrasts across places of articulation. In the discrimination experiment, assimilation overlap tended to hinder detection of non-native speech distinctions, which is in line with the PAM-based suggestion.