Bilingual speaker identification: Chinese and English

Authors

  • Peggy P.K. Mok The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • Robert Bo Xu The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • Donghui Zuo The Chinese University of Hong Kong

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v22i1.18636

Keywords:

speaker identification, voice memory, bilingual, Cantonese, English

Abstract

Very few studies have examined voice memory and speaker identification in bilingual contexts. This study investigated how well bilingual listeners could identify bilingual voices in different language conditions. 89 Cantonese-English and 89 Mandarin-English listeners participated in voice line-ups with Cantonese-English voices in the same-language and cross-language conditions. Results show that the overall identification accuracy was low. Cantonese-English listeners performed significantly better in the same-language than cross-language conditions, similar to previous findings based on monolingual subjects. However, there was no language effect for the Mandarin-English listeners, possibly due to their unfamiliarity with the languages concerned. Confidence ratings showed that all listeners were more confident in the same-language condition with their most familiar language, although the relationship between confident and accuracy was not reliable. The results suggest that some indexical information about speaker identity is language-dependent. Different articulatory settings may explain the better performance of Cantonese-English listeners in the same-language conditions.

Author Biographies

  • Peggy P.K. Mok, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
    Peggy Mok is an Associate Professor at the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She received her MPhil and PhD in Linguistics from the University of Cambridge. Her research interests include experimental phonetics, psycholinguistics and bilingualism.
  • Robert Bo Xu, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
    Robert Xu was an MPhil student at the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His thesis was on cross-linguistic perception of intonation by Cantonese and Mandarin listeners. He is now studying for a PhD at Stanford University.
  • Donghui Zuo, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
    Donghui Zuo was an MPhil student at the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her thesis was on formant dynamics of diphthongs in the speech of bilingual identical twins, which is now published as a journal article.

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Published

2015-07-08

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Mok, P. P., Xu, R. B., & Zuo, D. (2015). Bilingual speaker identification: Chinese and English. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law, 22(1), 57-78. https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v22i1.18636