| Project/Area Number |
21K20007
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Review Section |
0102:Literature, linguistics, and related fields
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| Research Institution | Tohoku University |
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Principal Investigator |
Cui Haining 東北大学, 国際文化研究科, GSICSフェロー (20906052)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2021-08-30 – 2023-03-31
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2023)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,470,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥570,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
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| Keywords | accented speech / prosody / foreign language / fMRI / speech processing / politeness / speech act / Second language / Pragmatics / Experience / Awareness |
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| Outline of Research at the Start |
This study investigates the behivioral and neurocognitive effects of raising L2 norm awareness and L2 experience in speech acts (e.g., request) processing and learning. The significance of this research are three folded. ①Provide neurocognitive evidence regarding the training effect of speech-act awareness and the individual differences in L2 experience on L2 acquisition. ②Characterize the association between behavioral training and neurocognitive outcomes in L2 learning. ③ Benefit second language education and curriculum design to teach pragmatics and improve L2 competence.
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
The current project uses fMRI techniques to investigate how the brain decodes foreign-accented emotional speech and whether awareness and familiarity with the accent alter the listener’s ability to understand the affective-prosodic meaning of speech acts, focusing on Japanese honorific speech acts. We found that the right superior temporal cortex integrates speech accentedness (standard vs. accented) and socio-affective intentions (polite vs. impolite honorific tones) during speech comprehension. Moreover, right medial temporal region activation correlated with perceived accent familiarity for utterances produced in the foreign accent, suggesting this brain structure is associated with the recognition of familiar speakers during speech comprehension. These findings were presented at the SNL 2022 conference.
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
This research clarifies how the brain responds to emotional speech in standard and accented voices, shedding light on the neural basis of language comprehension. It aims to improve communication in multicultural societies and enhance understanding of second language acquisition and processing.
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