Speech Perception and Acoustic Features: A Comparison of English Liquids versus Tamil Liquids

Authors: Mae Wilson, Reethee Antony

Field of Study: Speech and Language Pathology

Program Affiliation: Brain and Swallowing Lab

Faculty Mentors: Reethee Antony

Easel: 40

Timeslot: Midday

Abstract: Liquid sounds are very common among every language, approximately 96% of languages include liquids. Each language has its own phonetic inventory. In English there are only two liquid sounds, lateral /l/ and rhotic /ɹ/. Glides can also be grouped in with liquids which would add /w/ and /j/, making a total of four liquids/glides. Tamil is the primary language spoken in Tamil Nadu, India. Tamil’s phonetic inventory has five liquids. Articulation of /l/ and /ɹ/ are influenced differently by vowels depending on whether they are pre- or postvocalic. Knowing how vowels and positions influence articulation of liquids we can then look at the motor planning and development of liquids. In this poster, studies related to the liquids in general and studies that examined the Tamil liquids will be reviewed and presented.