Japanese pitch-accent: cross-linguistic perceptions by speakers of stress- and pitch-accent languages

Abstract

This thesis investigates the perception of Japanese pitch accent by native speakers of pitch-accent languages and stress-accent languages. In particular, it seeks to determine whether or not pitch accent is a salient feature across language boundaries. An experiment was conducted to compare the correct perception of Japanese pitch accent by native speakers of three pitch-accent languages (Punjabi, Serbo-Croatian, and Swedish) and three stress-accent languages (English, Russian, and Samoan). For several reasons, this study employed the Kyoto dialect of Japanese, rather than the Tokyo dialect. The experiment - conducted either in person or via the Internet - was unable to refute the null hypothesis that neither pitch-accent speakers nor stress-accent speakers would be more successful at accurately perceiving Japanese pitch accent. However, a statistical analysis employing ANOVA revealed that there was a significant correlation between accent category of the Japanese test items and the subjects' performance, regardless of native language.