Anglophone perceptions of Arabic syllable structure

1. Anglophone perceptions of Arabic syllable structure Azra N. Ali, Michael Ingleby and David Peebles University of Huddersfield England

2. Introduction • Existing studies have shown that the syllable has an internal hierarchical structure: syll = (onset) + rhyme rhyme = nucleus + (coda) e.g. “flame” f l +(aI + m)

3. Detecting syllables in the mental models • The syllable structure has been tested empirically using word games with concealed parts. (Mehler et al, 1981) (Ferrand & Segue, 1996; Segui & Ferrand, 2002)

4. Alternative Method • We outline here an alternative method for probing syllable structure. • We have sought for an empirical probe that engages only one mode of perception: • that concerned with audiovisual stimuli • probed by response of groups of participants to audiovisually incongruent data (McGurk effect).

5. McGurk Effect • When humans are presented with conflicting (or incongruent) audio and visual stimuli, the speech percept elicited may differ from that in either channel …..because of ‘phonological fusion’. • McGurk and MacDonald asked their recording technician to create a videotape with the audio syllable /ba/ dubbed onto a visual /ga/. • most normal adults reported fusion percept /da/ or /Da/ • symbolically, AUD(ba||ga)VIS → (da)PER|(Da)PER…

6. McGurk fusion rates • Fusion rate – measured as the proportion of participants that perceive a fusion.

7. Probing syllable structure using the McGurk effect • McGurk fusion rates have been used successfully to probe syllable structure of English words (Ali, 2003; Ali & Ingleby 2005) • Findings showed significant coda / onset differences of fusion rate • Codas fuse more readily than onsets AUD(map||mack)VIS → (mat)PER ~75% AUD(bale||gale)VIS → (dale)PER ~45%

8. Coda-Onset Difference • Such differences survive in branching constituents, polysyllabic words and words embedded in natural phrase contexts. • (Ali 2003; Ali & Ingleby 2004)

9. CV Languages • In a language without codas, however, the quantitative distinction between fusion rates in codas and onsets obviously cannot persist. • Although no-coda languages are known, Arabic syllabic structure is contested. In such a contested case. • one could use incongruent stimuli to open up the contest to experimental test, • seeking to falsify the no-coda hypothesis by finding the segments that show too much fusion to be onsets.

10. Arabic Language (1) • The Arabic tradition of Sybawaih, on which the (phonetic) alphabet for Arabic is founded, uses CV units symbolised orthographically by a consonant with a vowel diacritic فَ = /fa/ : فِ = /fi/فُ = /fu/ • In the Western tradition, however, classical scholars, treating Arabic like Latin and Greek, have postulated that there are closed syllables CVC, CVVC, CVCC. • Recently, Baothman’s study (2002) of Arabic speech patterns amasses evidence that Arabic has a CV phonology. This suggests that the Western tradition should be questioned.

11. Arabic Syllable Structure (2) • Thus, an preliminary aim of this paper is to question empirically whether native Arabic speakers have codas in their mental representation of Arabic speech. • We used word stimuli with an incongruent phonetic segment that would be a coda in the Western tradition but an onset in the Sybawaih view, and other stimuli incongruent at undisputed onset sites • Null H0: that fusion rates are the same at onset and ‘coda’ sites. • Alternative H1: that fusion rates are not the same for onsets and ‘codas’.

12. Results of Preliminary Aim Table 1 – fusion rates

13. Arabic Syllable Structure (3) Primary Aim • Having confirmed that fusion rates are the same at onset and ‘coda’ sites for Arabophones.We subjected Anglophones to the same Arabic word stimuli that had confirmed no-coda perceptions amongst Arabophones: • Null hypothesis H0: Anglophones fuse Arabic word stimuli at the same rate with incongruity at onset and ‘coda’ sites • Alternative H1: Anglophones fuse Arabic word stimuli at significantly different rates at these sites

14. Results of Primary Aim • Table 2 – fusion rates

15. Results (2) onsets ‘codas’

16. A more recent study: Geminates in Arabic • Arabophones show bimodally distributed fusion rates between singleton and geminate consonants • Significant differences in fusion rates between singletons (fusing readily), and geminates (resistant to fusion). • But when the same Arabic stimuli are put to Anglophones, their fusion rates are unimodally distributed • fusion rates for singletons and geminates were similar, no significant differences.

17. Summary (1) • These new results suggest that Arabophones use mental models of speech that differ markedly from the mental models that mediate speech perception in Anglophones. • Further research questions – • Subject Arabophones to English stimuli

18. Summary (2) • Further research questions – • For an Anglophone learning Arabic, at what point on the learning curve, does a student acquire the no-coda mental model that characterises Arabophones? • What are the fusion habits of those bilingually fluent from an early age ?…. • Probing syllable structure of Moroccan Arabic.