Perception and Production of the Aspiration Contrast in Mandarin Retroflex Affricates [tʂ] and [tʂh] by Adult Spanish Speakers Learning Mandarin Chinese

An Exploratory Study

Dados Bibliográficos

ID19487501
AutoresGuilherme Galhoz Maria Roque (0009-0002-9387-1720, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, autor correspondente), Quanzhen Zhang (Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine)
Ano2026
Volume11
Fascículo4
Páginas69
Data de publicação2026-04-02
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoLanguages (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2226-471X • E-ISSN: 2226-471X
EditoraMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/languages11040069
OpenAlexW7148598178
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas10

This exploratory study examines the perception and production of the aspiration contrast in Mandarin voiceless retroflex affricates zh [tʂ] and ch [tʂh] by ten adult Spanish speakers (three Peruvian, seven Chilean) at Nanjing University. Participants completed a perception identification task and a production reading task using the same set of 128 syllables. Voice Onset Time (VOT) measurements from the production task were converted to binary classifications for cross-modality comparison. Perception accuracy was moderately high (zh [tʂ]: 84.43%; ch [tʂh]: 82.39%), whilst production accuracy was substantially lower (zh [tʂ]: 32.61%; ch [tʂh]: 19.15% within native VOT ranges). Participants maintained the aspiration contrast (zh [tʂ] = 58 ms, ch [tʂh] = 125 ms) but consistently underproduced VOT compared to native speakers (zh [tʂ] = 67 ms, ch [tʂh] = 164 ms). Perception patterns align with Category Goodness (CG) assimilation within PAM-L2: both Mandarin sounds map to Spanish [tʃ] but with different goodness-of-fit, enabling moderate discrimination. Production follows SLM-r predictions, with learners developing a Composite L1–L2 Category that maintains the aspiration contrast but fails to establish new phonetic categories. The small sample size (n = 10) precluded robust statistical testing of individual differences. The perception–production asymmetry supports independent modality development in L2 phonetic acquisition

Contrast (vision) · Exploratory research · Mandarin Chinese · Perception · Production (economics) · Speech perception · Speech production · Task (project management) · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Speech Recognition and Synthesis · Voice and Speech Disorders