Get Started Time perception in speech and non-speech stimuli
Understanding the neural underpinnings of vowel length perception in native and non-native speakers of German
In the German language vowel lengths convey meaning (e.g., kam vs. Kamm), while this is not
the case in Mandarin Chinese. Accordingly, sensitivity to vowel lengths is crucial to learning German
as a second language. In a pilot study Chinese native speakers showed a higher perceptual threshold
for vowel duration changes than German native speakers in a discrimination task. Based on these
preliminary findings the here presented project seeks to investigate the neural underpinnings of
these cross-linguistic perceptual differences.
To this end, Chinese learners of German (L2 speaker) and native German speakers (L1 speakers,
control group) will be tested in a passive dual-deviant oddball paradigm, where a series of standard
stimuli CVCC (C: consonant, V: vowel, here: “feff”) is interspersed with deviant stimuli whose vowel
is longer than in the standard. The vowel duration of the first deviant (DEV1) is set to above the
perceptual threshold of L1 speakers but below the perceptual threshold of L2 speakers, while for the
second deviant (DEV2) the vowel duration sits above the perceptual threshold of both groups. The
change from a common standard stimulus to a rare deviant stimulus evokes the Mismatch Negativity
(MMN), an ERP component linked to automatic auditory change detection. Following from our
preliminary work, we expect that L1 speakers will show a more prominent MMN in response to
DEV1 than will L2 speakers
Project Duration
01.04.2025-31.12.2025
Project Lead
Tamara Pöpping