Haskins Publications

Number	568
Year	1986
Drawer	10
Entry Date	11/17/1999
Authors	Beddor, P. S, Krakow, R. A., & Goldstein, L. M.
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Publication	Phonology Yearbook 3, 197-217.
url	http://www.haskins.yale.edu/Reprints/HL0568.pdf
Abstract	To address the claim that listener misperceptions are a source of phonological shifts in nasal vowel height, the phonological, acoustic, & perceptual effects of nasalization on vowel height were examined (N = 12 native American Eng speakers). It is shown that the acoustic consequences of nasal coupling, although consistent with phonological patterns of nasal vowel raising & lowering, do not always influence perceived vowel height. The perceptual data suggest that nasalization affects perceived vowel height only when nasalization is phonetically inappropriate (eg, excessive nasal coupling) or phonologically inappropriate (eg, no conditioning environment in a lang without distinctive nasal vowels). It is argued that these conditions, rather than the inherent inability of the listener to distinguish the spectral effects of velic & tongue body gestures, lead to perceptual misinterpretations & potentially to sound change.
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