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Open AccessArticle

Phonological Feature Posteriors and Cue-Specific Accent Perception in Hindi- and Tamil-Accented English

by Nitin Venkateswaran and Ratree Wayland

Brain Sci. 2026, 16(2), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci16020177 - 31 Jan 2026

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Abstract

Background/Objectives: Accented speech reflects systematic deviation from target-language phonetic norms. This study demonstrates that perceived accent strength covaries with selective, gradient differences in phonological feature realization. We examine whether perceived accents in Hindi- and Tamil-accented English reflect uniform segmental deviation or cue-specific [...] Read more.

Background/Objectives: Accented speech reflects systematic deviation from target-language phonetic norms. This study demonstrates that perceived accent strength covaries with selective, gradient differences in phonological feature realization. We examine whether perceived accents in Hindi- and Tamil-accented English reflect uniform segmental deviation or cue-specific patterns of phonological feature realization. Methods: English speech produced by native speakers of Hindi and Tamil was evaluated using native listener accentedness ratings. Phonetic variation was analyzed using posterior probabilities of phonological features derived from a machine learning model, Phonet. The analyses focused on liquids (laterals and rhotics (e.g., /l/, /ɭ/, and /ɻ/) and labial segments in the fricative–glide space (e.g., /v/, /w/, and /ʋ/), with attention to word position and feature-level generalization. Results: Accentedness ratings differed systematically for Hindi- and Tamil-accented English and covaried with a subset of phonological feature dimensions, yielding contrast- and context-specific patterns of perceptually relevant variation. Not all features that varied in production contributed to perceived accent strength. Conclusions: These findings support a cue-specific, perception-grounded account of accentedness and establish phonological feature posteriors derived from Phonet as interpretable phonological categories through which gradient L2 production differences are evaluated by listeners. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Perception and Processing)

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22 pages, 3487 KB

Open AccessArticle

Structure Influences Case Processing: Electrophysiological Insights from Hindi Light Verb Constructions

by Anna Merin Mathew, R. Muralikrishnan, Mahima Gulati and Kamal Kumar Choudhary

Brain Sci. 2026, 16(2), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci16020176 - 31 Jan 2026

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Abstract

Background: Case marking serves as a crucial cue in sentence processing, enabling the prediction of upcoming arguments, thematic roles, and event structure. Cross-linguistic studies have revealed language-specific variations in case processing, with differences observed between nominative–accusative and ergative languages, albeit with limited data [...] Read more.

Background: Case marking serves as a crucial cue in sentence processing, enabling the prediction of upcoming arguments, thematic roles, and event structure. Cross-linguistic studies have revealed language-specific variations in case processing, with differences observed between nominative–accusative and ergative languages, albeit with limited data from the latter. Objective: To this end, we investigated case processing in Hindi compound light verb constructions, leveraging its split-ergative system. Methods: An ERP study was conducted with twenty-four native Hindi speakers, wherein the subject case (ergative or nominative) either matched or mismatched with the aspect marking on the light verb (perfective or imperfective). Results: The results revealed distinct ERP effects depending upon the subject case: a P600 effect for ergative case violations at the imperfective light verb and a biphasic N400-P600 effect for nominative case violations at the perfective light verb. Conclusions: These findings suggest underlying neurophysiological differences in the processing of ergative versus nominative case alignment within light verb structures. Moving forward, a closer examination of structure-specific neurophysiological variation can help bridge the gap between typological distributions and their neural underpinnings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Perception and Processing)

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21 pages, 2995 KB

Open AccessArticle

Language Experience Shapes Neural Grouping of Speech by Accent: EEG Evidence from Native, Second-Language, and Heritage Listeners

by Lauren L. Hong, Chao Han and Philip J. Monahan

Brain Sci. 2026, 16(2), 174; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci16020174 - 31 Jan 2026

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Abstract

Background: Accented speech contains talker-indexical cues that listeners can use to infer social group membership, yet it remains unclear how the auditory system categorizes accent variability and how this process depends on language experience. Methods: The current study used EEG and the MMN [...] Read more.

Background: Accented speech contains talker-indexical cues that listeners can use to infer social group membership, yet it remains unclear how the auditory system categorizes accent variability and how this process depends on language experience. Methods: The current study used EEG and the MMN oddball paradigm to test pre-attentive neural sensitivity to accent changes of English words stopped produced by Canadian English or Mandarin Chinese-accented English talkers. Three participant groups were tested: Native English listeners, L1-Mandarin listeners, and Heritage Mandarin listeners. Results: In the Native English and L1-Mandarin groups, we observed MMNs to the Canadian accented English deviant, indicating that the brain can group speech by accent despite substantive inter-talker variation and that this grouping is consistent with an experience-dependent sensitivity to accent. Exposure to Mandarin Chinese-accented English modulated MMN magnitude. Time-frequency analyses suggested that α and low-β power during accent encoding varied with language background, with Native English listeners showing stronger activity when presented with Mandarin Chinese-accented English. Finally, the neurophysiological response in the Heritage Mandarin group reflected a broader phonological space encompassing both Canadian English and Mandarin-accented English, and its magnitude was predicted by Chinese proficiency. Conclusions: These findings provide brain-based evidence that automatic accent categorization is not uniform across listeners but interacts with native phonology and second-language experience. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Perception and Processing)

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25 pages, 2358 KB

Open AccessArticle

Near-Merger and Contextual Sensitivity in the Perception of /n-l/ in Sichuan Mandarin

by Minghao Zheng, Allen Shamsi and Ratree Wayland

Brain Sci. 2026, 16(2), 155; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci16020155 - 29 Jan 2026

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Abstract

Background/Objectives: Sichuan Mandarin is often described as exhibiting overlap or merger between word-initial /n/ and /l/, but perceptual sensitivity across phonetic contexts remains underexplored. This study examines whether perception of the /n-l/ contrast varies by vowel context and listener experience. Methods: [...] Read more.

Background/Objectives: Sichuan Mandarin is often described as exhibiting overlap or merger between word-initial /n/ and /l/, but perceptual sensitivity across phonetic contexts remains underexplored. This study examines whether perception of the /n-l/ contrast varies by vowel context and listener experience. Methods: Thirty-two Sichuan Mandarin listeners completed categorical identification and same–different AX discrimination tasks using seven-step /n/ → /l/ continua derived from native-speaker productions in /i/ and /a/ contexts. Sensitivity, response bias, accuracy, and response times were analyzed alongside individual differences. Acoustic properties of the stimuli were quantified using spectral and amplitude-based measures. Results: Listeners showed overall reduced sensitivity to the /n-l/ contrast, with substantially stronger perceptual differentiation in /i/ than in /a/ contexts. Bias patterns were comparable across contexts, indicating sensitivity-driven effects. Acoustic analyses showed more robust cue structure in the /i/ continuum. Age, education, and Standard Mandarin experience modulated response efficiency but did not eliminate the vowel asymmetry. Conclusions: Results support a context-dependent near-merger of /n/ and /l/, shaped by acoustic cue availability and experience-based cue exploitation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Perception and Processing)

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22 pages, 1896 KB

Open AccessArticle

Korean Learners’ Acquisition of Mandarin Disyllabic Tone Sequences Across Proficiency Levels

by Yuping Fu, Yong-cheol Lee and Yanyang Zheng

Brain Sci. 2026, 16(1), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci16010021 - 24 Dec 2025

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Abstract

Background: Although tone acquisition is one of the most challenging aspects for adult second language (L2) learners, research remains limited on how learners from non-tonal first language (L1) backgrounds develop across proficiency levels. The current study examined Mandarin disyllabic tone sequences produced [...] Read more.

Background: Although tone acquisition is one of the most challenging aspects for adult second language (L2) learners, research remains limited on how learners from non-tonal first language (L1) backgrounds develop across proficiency levels. The current study examined Mandarin disyllabic tone sequences produced by learners at three proficiency levels. Methods: This study recorded the Mandarin tone production of beginner, intermediate, and advanced Korean learners and evaluated their accuracy and error patterns to determine whether similarities between L1 and L2 prosodic systems affect tone sequence difficulty. Results: Across groups, tone sequence rankings were consistent, differing mainly in accuracy rates. Learners showed an advantage in producing sequences aligned with Korean tonal patterns, such as T1–T1 and T3–T1, which were the easiest to produce. In contrast, sequences without Korean counterparts, particularly those ending in T2, remained the most difficult at all proficiency levels. Conclusions: Neurolinguistic evidence suggests that tones lacking L1 motor representations are disadvantaged by limited motor templates and weaker auditory coding, which together account for persistent difficulty with T2 sequences. Interestingly, T2 in word-initial position improved with experience, as increased exposure and practice helped learners form new sensorimotor routines supported by strengthened auditory–motor coupling. Over time, such experience-dependent neural reorganization enables more precise execution of rising F0 movements when tones occur at the beginning of a sequence, whereas carry-over interference from preceding tones continues to hinder accuracy in word-final position. This study provides insight into how sensorimotor and auditory systems interact in L2 tone learning, offering a neurocognitive framework for understanding prosodic transfer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Perception and Processing)

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15 pages, 510 KB

Open AccessArticle

Menstrual Cycle Modulation of Verbal Performance and Hemispheric Asymmetry

by Ivana Hromatko and Meri Tadinac

Brain Sci. 2025, 15(11), 1141; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111141 - 24 Oct 2025

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Abstract

Background/Objectives: It has been postulated that sex differences in certain types of verbal abilities arise from sex-dimorphic patterns of hemispheric activation, and that these patterns might be modulated by circulating levels of sex hormones. The aim of this study was to explore [...] Read more.

Background/Objectives: It has been postulated that sex differences in certain types of verbal abilities arise from sex-dimorphic patterns of hemispheric activation, and that these patterns might be modulated by circulating levels of sex hormones. The aim of this study was to explore the activational effects of sex hormones (throughout the menstrual cycle) on both verbal performance and functional hemispheric asymmetries (qEEG laterality) in three types of verbal tasks: sex-differentiated (verbal fluency and semantic decision) vs. sex-neutral (verbal reasoning) tasks. Methods: A group (n = 32) of healthy young women was tested twice, once during the mid-luteal (high levels of circulating sex hormones) and once during the early follicular (low levels of sex hormones) phases of the menstrual cycle. A comparable group of healthy young men (n = 32) was tested once. EEG was continuously recorded. The differences in alpha power on homologous sites of the left and right hemispheres were then calculated. Results: We found a clear congruence between performance on a task and laterality score: for sex-differentiated tasks, the activational effects of sex hormones were observed in both performance and laterality scores, while there were neither performance nor laterality scores shifts throughout the menstrual cycle for the sex-neutral task. Interestingly, measures of functional asymmetry were higher in the luteal compared to the menstrual phase. Conclusions: These findings suggest that sex hormones modulate verbal performance through their influence on hemispheric asymmetry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Perception and Processing)

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22 pages, 2431 KB

Open AccessArticle

Perceptual Plasticity in Bilinguals: Language Dominance Reshapes Acoustic Cue Weightings

by Annie Tremblay and Hyoju Kim

Brain Sci. 2025, 15(10), 1053; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15101053 - 27 Sep 2025

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Abstract

Background/Objectives: Speech perception is shaped by language experience, with listeners learning to selectively attend to acoustic cues that are informative in their language. This study investigates how language dominance, a proxy for long-term language experience, modulates cue weighting in highly proficient Spanish–English bilinguals’ [...] Read more.

Background/Objectives: Speech perception is shaped by language experience, with listeners learning to selectively attend to acoustic cues that are informative in their language. This study investigates how language dominance, a proxy for long-term language experience, modulates cue weighting in highly proficient Spanish–English bilinguals’ perception of English lexical stress. Methods: We tested 39 bilinguals with varying dominance profiles and 40 monolingual English speakers in a stress identification task using auditory stimuli that independently manipulated vowel quality, pitch, and duration. Results: Bayesian logistic regression models revealed that, compared to monolinguals, bilinguals relied less on vowel quality and more on pitch and duration, mirroring cue distributions in Spanish versus English. Critically, cue weighting within the bilingual group varied systematically with language dominance: English-dominant bilinguals patterned more like monolingual English listeners, showing increased reliance on vowel quality and decreased reliance on pitch and duration, whereas Spanish-dominant bilinguals retained a cue weighting that was more Spanish-like. Conclusions: These results support experience-based models of speech perception and provide behavioral evidence that bilinguals’ perceptual attention to acoustic cues remains flexible and dynamically responsive to long-term input. These results are in line with a neurobiological account of speech perception in which attentional and representational mechanisms adapt to changes in the input. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Perception and Processing)

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19 pages, 1603 KB

Open AccessArticle

Cross-Linguistic Influences on L2 Prosody Perception: Evidence from English Interrogative Focus Perception by Mandarin Listeners

by Xing Liu, Xiaoxiang Chen, Chen Kuang and Fei Chen

Brain Sci. 2025, 15(9), 1000; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15091000 - 16 Sep 2025

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Abstract

Background/Objectives: This study sets out to explore how L1 Mandarin speakers with varying lengths of L2 experience perceived English focus interrogative tune, L*H-H%, within the framework of the autosegmental–metrical model. Methods: Eighteen Mandarin speakers with varying lengths of residence in the United States [...] Read more.

Background/Objectives: This study sets out to explore how L1 Mandarin speakers with varying lengths of L2 experience perceived English focus interrogative tune, L*H-H%, within the framework of the autosegmental–metrical model. Methods: Eighteen Mandarin speakers with varying lengths of residence in the United States and eighteen English native speakers were invited to perceive prosodic prominence and judge the naturalness of focus prosody tunes. Results: For the perception of on-focus pitch accent L*, Mandarin speakers performed well in the prominence detection task but not in the focus identification task. For post-focus edge tones, we found that phrase accents were more susceptible to L1 influences than boundary tones due to the varying degrees of cross-linguistic similarity between these intonational categories. The results also show that even listeners with extended L2 experience were not proficient in their perception of L2 interrogative focus tunes. Conclusions: This study reveals the advantage of considering the degree of L1-L2 similarity and the necessity to examine cross-linguistic influences on L2 perception of prosody separately in phonological and phonetic dimensions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Perception and Processing)

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34 pages, 1876 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Interaction of Target and Masker Speech in Competing Speech Perception

by Sheyenne Fishero, Joan A. Sereno and Allard Jongman

Brain Sci. 2025, 15(8), 834; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15080834 - 4 Aug 2025

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Abstract

Background/Objectives: Speech perception typically takes place against a background of other speech or noise. The present study investigates the effectiveness of segregating speech streams within a competing speech signal, examining whether cues such as pitch, which typically denote a difference in talker, [...] Read more.

Background/Objectives: Speech perception typically takes place against a background of other speech or noise. The present study investigates the effectiveness of segregating speech streams within a competing speech signal, examining whether cues such as pitch, which typically denote a difference in talker, behave in the same way as cues such as speaking rate, which typically do not denote the presence of a new talker. Methods: Native English speakers listened to English target speech within English two-talker babble of a similar or different pitch and/or a similar or different speaking rate to identify whether mismatched properties between target speech and masker babble improve speech segregation. Additionally, Dutch and French masker babble was tested to identify whether an unknown language masker improves speech segregation capacity and whether the rhythm patterns of the unknown language modulate the improvement. Results: Results indicated that a difference in pitch or speaking rate between target and masker improved speech segregation, but when both pitch and speaking rate differed, only a difference in pitch improved speech segregation. Results also indicated improved speech segregation for an unknown language masker, with little to no role of rhythm pattern of the unknown language. Conclusions: This study increases the understanding of speech perception in a noisy ecologically valid context and suggests that there is a link between a cue’s potential to denote a new speaker and its ability to aid in speech segregation during competing speech perception. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Perception and Processing)

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23 pages, 1105 KB

Open AccessArticle

Examining Speech Perception–Production Relationships Through Tone Perception and Production Learning Among Indonesian Learners of Mandarin

by Keith K. W. Leung, Yu-An Lu and Yue Wang

Brain Sci. 2025, 15(7), 671; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15070671 - 22 Jun 2025

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1683

Abstract

Background: A transfer of learning effects across speech perception and production is evident in second-language (L2)-learning research, suggesting that perception and production are closely linked in L2 speech learning. However, underlying factors, such as the phonetic cue weightings given to acoustic features, of [...] Read more.

Background: A transfer of learning effects across speech perception and production is evident in second-language (L2)-learning research, suggesting that perception and production are closely linked in L2 speech learning. However, underlying factors, such as the phonetic cue weightings given to acoustic features, of the relationship between perception and production improvements are less explored. To address this research gap, the current study explored the effects of Mandarin tone learning on the production and perception of critical (pitch direction) and non-critical (pitch height) perceptual cues. Methods: This study tracked the Mandarin learning effects of Indonesian adult learners over a four-to-six-week learning period. Results: We found that perception and production gains in Mandarin L2 learning concurrently occurred with the critical pitch direction cue, F0 slope. The non-critical pitch height cue, F0 mean, only displayed a production gain. Conclusions: The results indicate the role of critical perceptual cues in relating tone perception and production in general, and in the transfer of learning effects across the two domains for L2 learning. These results demonstrate the transfer of the ability to perceive phonological contrasts using critical phonetic information to the production domain based on the same cue weighting, suggesting interconnected encoding and decoding processes in L2 speech learning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Perception and Processing)

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25 pages, 1403 KB

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Discrimination and Integration of Phonological Features in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploratory Multi-Feature Oddball Protocol

by Mingyue Zuo, Yang Zhang, Rui Wang, Dan Huang, Luodi Yu and Suiping Wang

Brain Sci. 2025, 15(9), 905; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15090905 - 23 Aug 2025

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Abstract

Background/Objectives: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often display heightened sensitivity to simple auditory stimuli, but have difficulty discriminating and integrating multiple phonological features (segmental: consonants and vowels; suprasegmental: lexical tones) at the syllable level, which negatively impacts their communication. This study aims [...] Read more.

Background/Objectives: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often display heightened sensitivity to simple auditory stimuli, but have difficulty discriminating and integrating multiple phonological features (segmental: consonants and vowels; suprasegmental: lexical tones) at the syllable level, which negatively impacts their communication. This study aims to investigate the neural basis of segmental, suprasegmental and combinatorial speech processing challenges in Mandarin-speaking children with ASD compared with typically developing (TD) peers. Methods: Thirty children with ASD and thirty TD peers will complete a multi-feature oddball paradigm to elicit auditory ERP during passive listening. Stimuli include syllables with single (e.g., vowel only), dual (e.g., vowel + tone), and triple (consonant + vowel + tone) phonological deviations. Neural responses will be analyzed using temporal principal component analysis (t-PCA) to isolate overlapping ERP components (early/late MMN), and representational similarity analysis (RSA) to assess group differences in neural representational structure across feature conditions. Expected Outcomes: We adopt a dual-framework approach to hypothesis generation. First, from a theory-driven perspective, we integrate three complementary models, Enhanced Perceptual Functioning (EPF), Weak Central Coherence (WCC), and the Neural Complexity Hypothesis (NCH), to account for auditory processing in ASD. Specifically, we hypothesize that ASD children will show enhanced or intact neural discriminatory responses to isolated segmental deviations (e.g., vowel), but attenuated or delayed responses to suprasegmental (e.g., tone) and multi-feature deviants, with the most severe disruptions occurring in complex, multi-feature conditions. Second, from an empirically grounded, data-driven perspective, we derive our central hypothesis directly from the mismatch negativity (MMN) literature, which suggests reduced MMN amplitudes (with the exception of vowel deviants) and prolonged latencies accompanied by a diminished left-hemisphere advantage across all speech feature types in ASD, with the most pronounced effects in complex, multi-feature conditions. Significance: By testing alternative hypotheses and predictions, this exploratory study will clarify the extent to which speech processing differences in ASD reflect cognitive biases (local vs. global, per EPF/WCC/NCH) versus speech-specific neurophysiological disruptions. Findings will advance our understanding of the sensory and integrative mechanisms underlying communication difficulties in ASD, particularly in tonal language contexts, and may inform the development of linguistically tailored interventions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Perception and Processing)

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