Hearing faces and seeing accents?: The factors behind the multisensory speech perception of native Mandarin speakers

In this paper, the McGurk effect displayed by native Mandarin Speakers is examined in the light of reaction time (RT) and response types. Two within-subject factors, FACE and ACCENT, and one between-subject factor, English Proficiency, were incorporated in the experiment. The results showed that FAC...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Concentric: Studies in Linguistics 2020-05, Vol.46 (1), p.1-20
Main Author: Yu, Chen-Wei Felix
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accentuation
English as a second language learning
English proficiency
Mandarin
McGurk effect
Non-native accent
Reaction time
Speech perception
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Summary:In this paper, the McGurk effect displayed by native Mandarin Speakers is examined in the light of reaction time (RT) and response types. Two within-subject factors, FACE and ACCENT, and one between-subject factor, English Proficiency, were incorporated in the experiment. The results showed that FACE and ACCENT, but not English Proficiency, had effects on the participants’ RT and response types. When a foreign ACCENT was dubbed onto a familiar FACE, the RT was the longest, and the McGurk effect was most likely to be found. Other kinds of McGurk stimuli composition did not receive different RT but induced different response types. When the FACE was foreign, regardless of the ACCENT, the participants tended to respond with perceptive illusion. The author concluded that the expectations of the perceiver influenced the use of multisensory integration and thus the longer RT and the appearance of the McGurk effect.
ISSN:1810-7478
2589-5230
DOI:10.1075/consl.00011.yu