Between äh(m) and euh(m): The distribution and realization of filled pauses in the speech of German-French simultaneous bilinguals

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https://doi.org/10.1177/0023830919890068
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Keywords

Filled pauses, dominant language, hesitation phenomena, simultaneous bilinguals, speaker specificity

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Between äh(m) and euh(m): The distribution and realization of filled pauses in the speech of German-French simultaneous bilinguals. / Lo, Justin J. H.
In: Language and Speech, Vol. 63, No. 4, 01.12.2020, p. 746-768.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Bibtex

@article{688c3a35802a45d3baec0305d3eeb468,

title = "Between {\"a}h(m) and euh(m): The distribution and realization of filled pauses in the speech of German-French simultaneous bilinguals",

abstract = "Filled pauses are well known for their speaker specificity, yet cross-linguistic research has also shown language-specific trends in their distribution and phonetic quality. To examine the extent to which speakers acquire filled pauses as language- or speaker-specific phenomena, this study investigates the use of filled pauses in the context of adult simultaneous bilinguals. Making use of both distributional and acoustic data, this study analyzed UH, consisting of only a vowel component, and UM, with a vowel followed by [m], in the speech of 15 female speakers who were simultaneously bilingual in French and German. Speakers were found to use UM more frequently in German than in French, but only German-dominant speakers had a preference for UM in German. Formant and durational analyses showed that while speakers maintained distinct vowel qualities in their filled pauses in different languages, filled pauses in their weaker language exhibited a shift towards those in their dominant language. These results suggest that, despite high levels of variability between speakers, there is a significant role for language in the acquisition of filled pauses in simultaneous bilingual speakers, which is further shaped by the linguistic environment they grow up in.",

keywords = "Filled pauses, dominant language, hesitation phenomena, simultaneous bilinguals, speaker specificity",

author = "Lo, {Justin J. H.}",

year = "2020",

month = dec,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1177/0023830919890068",

language = "English",

volume = "63",

pages = "746--768",

journal = "Language and Speech",

issn = "0023-8309",

publisher = "SAGE Publications",

number = "4",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Between äh(m) and euh(m): The distribution and realization of filled pauses in the speech of German-French simultaneous bilinguals

AU - Lo, Justin J. H.

PY - 2020/12/1

Y1 - 2020/12/1

N2 - Filled pauses are well known for their speaker specificity, yet cross-linguistic research has also shown language-specific trends in their distribution and phonetic quality. To examine the extent to which speakers acquire filled pauses as language- or speaker-specific phenomena, this study investigates the use of filled pauses in the context of adult simultaneous bilinguals. Making use of both distributional and acoustic data, this study analyzed UH, consisting of only a vowel component, and UM, with a vowel followed by [m], in the speech of 15 female speakers who were simultaneously bilingual in French and German. Speakers were found to use UM more frequently in German than in French, but only German-dominant speakers had a preference for UM in German. Formant and durational analyses showed that while speakers maintained distinct vowel qualities in their filled pauses in different languages, filled pauses in their weaker language exhibited a shift towards those in their dominant language. These results suggest that, despite high levels of variability between speakers, there is a significant role for language in the acquisition of filled pauses in simultaneous bilingual speakers, which is further shaped by the linguistic environment they grow up in.

AB - Filled pauses are well known for their speaker specificity, yet cross-linguistic research has also shown language-specific trends in their distribution and phonetic quality. To examine the extent to which speakers acquire filled pauses as language- or speaker-specific phenomena, this study investigates the use of filled pauses in the context of adult simultaneous bilinguals. Making use of both distributional and acoustic data, this study analyzed UH, consisting of only a vowel component, and UM, with a vowel followed by [m], in the speech of 15 female speakers who were simultaneously bilingual in French and German. Speakers were found to use UM more frequently in German than in French, but only German-dominant speakers had a preference for UM in German. Formant and durational analyses showed that while speakers maintained distinct vowel qualities in their filled pauses in different languages, filled pauses in their weaker language exhibited a shift towards those in their dominant language. These results suggest that, despite high levels of variability between speakers, there is a significant role for language in the acquisition of filled pauses in simultaneous bilingual speakers, which is further shaped by the linguistic environment they grow up in.

KW - Filled pauses

KW - dominant language

KW - hesitation phenomena

KW - simultaneous bilinguals

KW - speaker specificity

U2 - 10.1177/0023830919890068

DO - 10.1177/0023830919890068

M3 - Journal article

VL - 63

SP - 746

EP - 768

JO - Language and Speech

JF - Language and Speech

SN - 0023-8309

IS - 4

ER -

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