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Variability in fricative contrast merger: Evidence from Quanzhou Southern Min and Mandarin.

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Title: Variability in fricative contrast merger: Evidence from Quanzhou Southern Min and Mandarin.
Authors: Weng, Caihong1,2 (AUTHOR) c.weng@rug.nl, Chitoran, Ioana1,3 (AUTHOR) ioana.chitoran@u-paris.fr, Martin, Alexander2 (AUTHOR) alexander.martin@rug.nl
Source: Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Feb2026, Vol. 159 Issue 2, p1659-1673. 15p.
Subjects: Mandarin dialects, Second language acquisition, Phonetics, Acoustic measurements, Speech perception, Phonology, Spectral analysis (Phonetics)
Geographic Terms: Quanzhou Shi (China)
Abstract: This study investigates the merger of the Mandarin alveolar-retroflex contrast in two vowel contexts ([a] vs [u]) among bilingual speakers of Quanzhou Southern Min [first language (L1)] and Mandarin [second language (L2)], with a focus on the interaction between linguistic and social factors. Sixty-one bilingual speakers' productions were evaluated by L1 Mandarin listeners in a perceptual identification task, and k-means clustering analysis based on each fricative's perceptual accuracy was used to classify speakers as "distinctive" or "merged." Acoustic analysis of the spectral center of gravity (CoG) confirmed that L1 Standard Mandarin speakers maintained a larger CoG separation between /s/ and /ʂ/ than bilinguals, especially in the [u] context, reflecting individual variability within the bilingual group. For bilinguals, acoustic analysis further corroborated the perceptual classification: "Distinctive" bilinguals maintained clear CoG separation between /s/ and /ʂ/ categories, whereas merged bilinguals showed little to no difference in either vowel context. Furthermore, gender and age significantly influenced this contrast production. Notably, these effects were largely mediated by L2 exposure levels. Women and younger speakers tended to have greater exposure to Mandarin, which correlated with more distinctive productions. This result highlights the dynamic relationship between linguistic and social factors in shaping phonological contrast variability in bilingual speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of the Acoustical Society of America is the property of American Institute of Physics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 191986412
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PubTypeId: academicJournal
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  Data: Variability in fricative contrast merger: Evidence from Quanzhou Southern Min and Mandarin.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Weng%2C+Caihong%22">Weng, Caihong</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> c.weng@rug.nl</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chitoran%2C+Ioana%22">Chitoran, Ioana</searchLink><relatesTo>1,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ioana.chitoran@u-paris.fr</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Martin%2C+Alexander%22">Martin, Alexander</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> alexander.martin@rug.nl</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+the+Acoustical+Society+of+America%22">Journal of the Acoustical Society of America</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 159 Issue 2, p1659-1673. 15p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mandarin+dialects%22">Mandarin dialects</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Second+language+acquisition%22">Second language acquisition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonetics%22">Phonetics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Acoustic+measurements%22">Acoustic measurements</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Speech+perception%22">Speech perception</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonology%22">Phonology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spectral+analysis+%28Phonetics%29%22">Spectral analysis (Phonetics)</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Quanzhou+Shi+%28China%29%22">Quanzhou Shi (China)</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This study investigates the merger of the Mandarin alveolar-retroflex contrast in two vowel contexts ([a] vs [u]) among bilingual speakers of Quanzhou Southern Min [first language (L1)] and Mandarin [second language (L2)], with a focus on the interaction between linguistic and social factors. Sixty-one bilingual speakers' productions were evaluated by L1 Mandarin listeners in a perceptual identification task, and k-means clustering analysis based on each fricative's perceptual accuracy was used to classify speakers as "distinctive" or "merged." Acoustic analysis of the spectral center of gravity (CoG) confirmed that L1 Standard Mandarin speakers maintained a larger CoG separation between /s/ and /ʂ/ than bilinguals, especially in the [u] context, reflecting individual variability within the bilingual group. For bilinguals, acoustic analysis further corroborated the perceptual classification: "Distinctive" bilinguals maintained clear CoG separation between /s/ and /ʂ/ categories, whereas merged bilinguals showed little to no difference in either vowel context. Furthermore, gender and age significantly influenced this contrast production. Notably, these effects were largely mediated by L2 exposure levels. Women and younger speakers tended to have greater exposure to Mandarin, which correlated with more distinctive productions. This result highlights the dynamic relationship between linguistic and social factors in shaping phonological contrast variability in bilingual speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of the Acoustical Society of America is the property of American Institute of Physics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1121/10.0042467
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 15
        StartPage: 1659
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Mandarin dialects
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Second language acquisition
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Phonetics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Acoustic measurements
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Speech perception
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Phonology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Spectral analysis (Phonetics)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Quanzhou Shi (China)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Variability in fricative contrast merger: Evidence from Quanzhou Southern Min and Mandarin.
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            NameFull: Weng, Caihong
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            NameFull: Chitoran, Ioana
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            NameFull: Martin, Alexander
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              M: 02
              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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            – TitleFull: Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
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