Language-dependent cue weighting in distinctive feature: evidence from the perception of Mandarin high vowels by native English speakers

Abstract This study investigates the perception of the three Mandarin high vowels /i, u, y/ after dental, retroflex, and palatal fricatives and affricates (/s/-/ʦ/-/ʦʰ/; /ʂ/-/tʂ/-/tʂʰ/, and /ʨ/, /ʨʰ/, /ɕ/) by native English speakers. The results of the perceptual identification and categorization experiments show that among the three target vowels, the high front rounded vowel /y/ presents the greatest challenge for native English speakers. They have a significantly higher tendency to confuse /y/ with the Mandarin high-back rounded vowel /u/ compared to the Mandarin high-front unrounded vowel /i/, as they perceptually classified /y/ and /u/ into the same English vowel category /u/. The findings of the study suggest that native English speakers adopt a perceptual strategy that differs from that of native Japanese and Korean speakers, relying heavier on the feature of roundness as opposed to backness in perceiving the Mandarin /y/. This study contributes to the perceptual cue weighting field by examining the weighting of phonetic cues (i.e., distinctive features) in Mandarin high vowels by native English speakers. These results hold pedagogical significance as they highlight the importance of targeted perception training for learners of different language backgrounds to enhance both their recognition and reproduction of second language sounds.