Acoustic Data on Vowel Nasalization Across Prosodic Conditions in L1 Korean and L2 English by Native Korean Speakers
Abstract
1. Summary
2. Data Description
2.1. CSV Files: Acoustic Nasal Duration Measurements
- speaker: A unique speaker code identifying each participant. The first letter indicates English proficiency level—”A” for advanced and “I” for intermediate—based on criteria described in Section 3.1 (Participants). The second letter indicates gender (“F” for female, “M” for male), followed by two digits (01–07) randomly assigned to each speaker. Speakers assigned the same identification number in the L1 Korean and L2 English CSV files correspond to the same individuals. Note: AM07 and IM07 are additional participants included only in the L2 English dataset, as the L1 Korean dataset contains 12 speakers, while the L2 English dataset includes 14 speakers.
- item: The target word produced in each trial. For the L1Kor_N-duration.csv file, items include mat, mak, nat, nap, p*am, p*an, t*am, and t*an. For the L2Eng_N-duration.csv file, items include mob, mop, Ned, net, bomb, palm, den, and ten.
- context: The position in which the nasal consonant (N) occurs. domain-final indicates cases where N is the word-final segment (CVN structure), while domain-initial indicates cases where N is the word-initial segment (NVC structure).
- structure: The syllabic structure of the target word, using “C” for oral consonants, “V” for vowels, and “N” for nasal consonants.
- boundary: The prosodic boundary condition under which the target word was produced. “IP” indicates Intonational Phrase boundaries: for NVC words, this means the target occurred phrase-initially (at the beginning of an IP); for CVN words, it occurred phrase-finally (at the end of an IP). “Wd” refers to phrase-medial (word-level) positions.
- focus: The focus condition applied to the target word. “Focused” indicates that the target word was produced under contrastive focus, while “Unfocused” indicates that contrastive focus was placed on another word in the utterance.
- rep: The repetition number for a given condition, labeled from r1 to r4, where “r” stands for repetition.
- duration: The acoustic duration (in milliseconds) of the nasal consonant (N) in the target word.
2.2. CSV Files: Acoustic A1-P0 Measurements at Relative and Absolute Time Points
- L1Kor_V-nasalization_Absolute.csv
- L1Kor_V-nasalization_Relative.csv
- L2Eng_V-nasalization_Absolute.csv
- L2Eng_V-nasalization_Relative.csv
- speaker: A unique speaker code identifying each participant (as described in Section 2.1 for acoustic N-duration measurements).
- item: The target word produced in the trial. For L1 Korean, it includes mat, mak, nat, nap, p*am, p*an, t*am, t*an, along with matching consonant–vowel–consonant (CVC) words such as p*at, p*ak, t*at, t*ap, p*ap. For L2 English: mob, mop, Ned, net, bomb, palm, den, ten, and their matching CVC counterparts—bob, bop, dead, debt, pop, Ted.
- pair: The CVC–CVN or CVC–NVC minimal pair to which the target word belongs.
- context: The position in which the nasal consonant (N) occurs (as described in Section 2.1 for acoustic N-duration measurements).
- structure: The syllabic structure of the target word, using “C” for oral consonants, “V” for vowels, and “N” for nasal consonants.
- boundary: The prosodic boundary condition under which the target word was produced (as described in Section 2.1 for acoustic N-duration measurements).
- focus: The focus condition applied to the target word (as described in Section 2.1 for acoustic N-duration measurements).
- rep: The repetition number for each condition, ranging from r1 to r4.
- timepoint: A timepoint for where in the vowel the A1-P0 measurement was taken. For relative timepoint files, values are taken at 25%, 50%, and 75% of vowel duration. In domain-final contexts, 25% is closer to the coda consonant; in domain-initial contexts, 25% is closer to the onset consonant. For absolute timepoint files, values are taken at 20 ms, 40 ms, and 60 ms into the vowel, with proximity interpreted similarly based on the nasal’s position.
- a1p0: The raw A1-P0 value (in dB) measured at the specified timepoint of the token, adjusted based on formant and bandwidth values [4] See Section 3.3 (Measurements) for further detail.
- proportion: The normalized A1-P0 value (%), calculated as a proportion of each target word’s A1-P0 value relative to the nasality range of its minimal pair (CVC–CVN or CVC–NVC). See Section 3.3 (Measurements) for further detail.
2.3. Individual Data Figures
3. Methods
3.1. Participants
3.2. Speech Materials
3.3. Measurements
4. Findings and Potential Implications
4.1. Findings and Potential Implications in Relation to L1 Korean Production
- In Korean [2], focus-induced prominence causes nasal consonants to lengthen in domain-final (CVN#), enhancing the [nasal] feature, but shows no such lengthening in domain-initial (#NVC) context; meanwhile, vowels under focus resist nasalization to maintain the [oral] feature in both contexts. Further examination of individual speaker differences as illustrated in Figure 1 reveals that while all 12 speakers consistently lengthen nasal consonant duration in the domain-final (CVN#) context under prominence, only 7 out of 12 speakers do so in the domain-initial (#NVC) context. The remaining five either shorten the nasal duration or show no change under prominence.
- In Korean [2], domain-initial nasals show denasalization with no nasal coarticulatory influence on the vowel, while phrase-final nasals unexpectedly shorten, despite increased vowel nasalization. In the current dataset, out of twelve speakers, nine exhibit shorter nasal duration in phrase-final position, while the remaining three show either longer duration or no change (Figure 2). Additionally, greater individual variation is observed in the vowel nasalization pattern at phrase-final position (Figure 6): six (based on relative time points) and seven speakers (based on absolute time points) show increased vowel nasalization phrase-finally, whereas the other six and five speakers do not show such difference.
- While results from the original study suggest that Korean speakers, as a group, exhibit distinct prosodic fine-tuning compared to English, a closer examination of individual differences therefore reveals the possibility that the specific phonetic mechanisms shaped by prosodic structure may vary across speakers.
4.2. Findings and Potential Implications in Relation to L2 English Produced by Korean Learners
- The L2 English study [2] demonstrates that Korean learners systematically modulate coarticulatory vowel nasalization in English as a function of prosodic structure. These learners appear to access and reproduce prosodic-structural phonetic detail in English with some success; however, their productions remain partially influenced by their L1 Korean, resulting in patterns that diverge from both native Korean and native English norms.
- Our individual speaker data presented in the current data descriptor provide a more nuanced picture of this finding. While most L2 English speakers (13 out of 14) successfully reproduced the lengthened phrase-final nasal consonant in the CVN# context, there was considerable individual variation in how this affected the nasalization of the preceding vowel. Specifically, as can be seen in Figure 8, four speakers (based on relative time points) and six speakers (based on absolute time points) exhibited increased phrase-final vowel nasalization, mirroring native speaker patterns reported in [11]. In contrast, several speakers showed no change, and two exhibited the opposite trend. These findings suggest that, although the aggregate data point to a native-like modulation of coarticulatory vowel nasalization among Korean learners, substantial individual variability persists. This underscores the importance of examining learner data not only in terms of group-level tendencies but also at the individual level to fully capture the complexity of L2 phonetic acquisition.
4.3. Further Implications
- Temporal modification of coarticulatory vowel nasalization: The dataset includes time-aligned acoustic signals that support fine-grained analyses of the temporal extent, onset, and alignment of vowel nasalization in relation to adjacent nasal consonants. This temporal dimension makes it possible to track how nasal coarticulation unfolds over time across different prosodic positions—such as phrase-initial/final versus phrase-medial and focused versus unfocused conditions—providing insight into the dynamic nature of nasalization as a function of prosodic structure. Such analyses can further reveal whether the temporal span of nasalization is systematically adjusted in response to prosodic strengthening or boundary effects, and, crucially, how these patterns may vary across individual speakers, whether in L1 Korean or L2 English contexts.
- Individual variability and L2 prosodic transfer: The dataset is well-suited for investigating speaker-specific variation in coarticulatory patterns, particularly among L2 speakers. It enables analyses of how Korean learners of English differ in their use of coarticulatory vowel nasalization and how their L1 prosodic structure shapes L2 production. Crucially, the dataset includes both native (L1 Korean) and non-native (L2 English) speech from the same individuals, allowing for within-speaker cross-linguistic comparisons. This design offers unique opportunities to examine the influence of L1 phonetic and prosodic systems on L2 speech, especially for non-contrastive features like coarticulatory nasalization—patterns that are not explicitly taught in L2 instruction but may nonetheless be transferred from the speaker’s native language. The inclusion of both Advanced and Intermediate learner groups further facilitates targeted analyses of how L2 proficiency modulates sensitivity to prosodic structure and coarticulatory behavior. Overall, the dataset provides a robust empirical foundation for understanding how language-specific phonetic patterns are internalized, transferred, and potentially reshaped across different levels of linguistic experience.
- Sociophonetic variation (i.e., gender-related differences): The dataset also provides an opportunity to explore sociophonetic dimensions of nasalization, such as gender-based differences in nasalization strategies and their interaction with prosodic structure. For instance, male and female speakers may differ in the extent, timing, or consistency of coarticulatory vowel nasalization, particularly under prosodic prominence or boundary-related modulation. These questions, which have not been addressed in previous publications, offer a valuable direction for future work on how social and linguistic factors intersect to shape fine-grained phonetic variation within and across speech communities.
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Speaker | Item | Context | Structure | Boundary | Focus | Rep | Duration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | IP | Focused | r1 | 84.12 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | IP | Focused | r2 | 66.78 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | IP | Focused | r3 | 58.8 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | IP | Focused | r4 | 64.04 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | IP | Unfocused | r1 | 27.05 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | IP | Unfocused | r2 | 64.8 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | IP | Unfocused | r3 | 53.4 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | IP | Unfocused | r4 | 95.88 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | Wd | Focused | r1 | 88.39 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | Wd | Focused | r2 | 59.69 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | Wd | Focused | r4 | 72.52 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | Wd | Unfocused | r1 | 115.38 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | Wd | Unfocused | r2 | 90.77 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | Wd | Unfocused | r3 | 98.86 |
AF01 | palm | domain-final | CVN | Wd | Unfocused | r4 | 106.3 |
Structure | Boundary | Focus | Example Sentences |
---|---|---|---|
#NVC (mop) | IP-initial | Focused | A: Did you write “bop fast again”? B: No. “Mop fast again” was what I wrote. |
Unfocused | A: Did you write “bop slowly again”? B: No. “Mop fast again“ was what I wrote. | ||
Wd-initial | Focused | A: Did you write “say bop fast again”? B: No. I wrote, “say mop fast again.” | |
Unfocused | A: Did you write “say mop slowly again”? B: No. I wrote, “say mop fast again.” | ||
CVN# (bomb) | IP-final | Focused | A: Were you supposed to write “bob”? B: No. I was supposed to write “bomb”, wasn’t I? |
Unfocused | A: Were you supposed to write “bomb”? B: No. John was supposed to write “bomb”, wasn’t he? | ||
Wd-final | Focused | A: Did you write “say bob fast again”? B: No. I wrote, “say bomb fast again.” | |
Unfocused | A: Did you write “say bomb slowly again”? B: No. I wrote, “say bomb fast again.” |
Structure | Boundary | Focus | Example Sentences |
---|---|---|---|
#NVC (mat) | IP-initial | Focused | A: [ipʌn tanʌnɨn p*atsatʃʲin twienonni]? “This time, do I place the word (card) to the right of the picture of p*at?” B: [ani]. IP [matsatʃʲin twi]. IP [twɛssʌ]? “No. To the right of the picture of mat. Got it?” |
Unfocused | A: [ipʌn tanʌnɨn matsatʃʲin aphenonni]? “This time, do I place the word (card) to the left of the picture of mat?” B: [ani]. IP [matsatʃʲin twi]. IP [twɛssʌ]? “No. To the right to the picture of mat. Got it?” | ||
Wd-initial | Focused | A: [ipʌn tanʌnɨn ap*a p*atsatʃʲin twienonni]? “This time, do I place the word (card) to the right of dad’s picture of p*at?” B: [ani]. IP [a*pa matsatʃʲin twi]. IP [twɛssʌ]? “No. To the right of dad’s picture of mat. Got it?” | |
Unfocused | A: [ipʌn tanʌnɨn ap*a mat.satʃʲin aphenonni]? “This time, do I place the word (card) to the left of dad’s picture of mat?” B: [ani]. IP [a*pa matsatʃʲin twi]. IP [twɛssʌ]? “No. To the right of dad’s picture of mat. Got it?” | ||
CVN# (p*am) | IP-final | Focused | A: [ipʌn tanʌnɨn khɨnap*a p*apini]? “This time, is the word (card) big uncle’s p*ap?” B: [ani] IP [khɨnap*a p*am] IP [twɛssʌ]? “No. It’s big uncle’s p*am. Got it?” |
Unfocused | A: [ipʌn tanʌnɨn tʃakɨnap*a p*amini]? “This time, is the word (card) little uncle’s p*am?” B: [ani] IP [khɨnap*a p*am] IP [twɛssʌ]? “No. It’s big uncle’s p*am. Got it?” | ||
Wd-final | Focused | A: [ipʌn tanʌnɨn khɨnap*a p*ap twienonni]? “This time, do I place the word (card) to the right of big uncle’s p*ap?” B: [ani] IP [khɨnap*a p*am twie] IP [twɛssʌ]? “No. To the right of big uncle’s p*am. Got it?” | |
Unfocused | A: [ipʌn tanʌɨn tʃakɨnap*a p*am twienonni]? “This time, do I place the word (card) to the right of little uncle’s p*am?” B: [ani] IP [khɨnap*a p*am twie] IP [twɛssʌ]? “No. To the right of big uncle’s p*am. Got it?” |
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Jang, J.; Kim, S.; Cho, T. Acoustic Data on Vowel Nasalization Across Prosodic Conditions in L1 Korean and L2 English by Native Korean Speakers. Data 2025, 10, 82. https://doi.org/10.3390/data10060082
Jang J, Kim S, Cho T. Acoustic Data on Vowel Nasalization Across Prosodic Conditions in L1 Korean and L2 English by Native Korean Speakers. Data. 2025; 10(6):82. https://doi.org/10.3390/data10060082
Chicago/Turabian StyleJang, Jiyoung, Sahyang Kim, and Taehong Cho. 2025. "Acoustic Data on Vowel Nasalization Across Prosodic Conditions in L1 Korean and L2 English by Native Korean Speakers" Data 10, no. 6: 82. https://doi.org/10.3390/data10060082
APA StyleJang, J., Kim, S., & Cho, T. (2025). Acoustic Data on Vowel Nasalization Across Prosodic Conditions in L1 Korean and L2 English by Native Korean Speakers. Data, 10(6), 82. https://doi.org/10.3390/data10060082