Title: The sounds R changing: Allophonic Variation of Maltese /r/ in production and perception
Date: Wednesday 9 April 2025
Time: 12:15
Venue: MKS414, Level 4, MAKS Building
Speaker: Prof. Holger Mitterer
Hosted By: Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Media & Knowledge Sciences (MAKS)
Abstract:
Traditional descriptions of the Maltese language suggest that the /r/ sound is pronounced as an alveolar trill, similar to how it is spoken in neighbouring Italian and Arabic. This means the tongue tip rapidly taps against the area just behind the upper front teeth. This is a challenging sound to produce as the tongue is moved passively by the so-called Bernoulli effect. However, many languages have shifted away from this trilled /r/ over time. For example, German and French moved to a uvular /r/ (produced further back in the mouth), while Standard British English gradually replaced the trill with a smoother sound, called an approximant, likely starting during the Renaissance.
We investigated whether Maltese is undergoing a similar change, particularly since Italian (using the alveolar trill) has become less influential with the rise of satellite TV, while English (which uses the approximant) has grown in influence. To explore this, we recorded 60 speakers pronouncing words with /r/ in different positions—at the beginning, middle, and end of words.
Our findings support the idea of an ongoing shift: younger speakers were more likely to use the English-style approximant, while older speakers favoured the traditional trilled /r/. However, even older speakers did not consistently use the trill, especially at the ends of words, where approximants were common. This suggests that producing a trill at the end of a word is particularly challenging, making it a likely area for change in the language.
We also investigated how this variation in pronunciation affects how listeners recognize spoken words. If different speakers produce /r/ in different ways, does one version make words easier to recognize? Or do listeners better understand words when they match their own pronunciation? To answer this, we used eye-tracking, a technique that measures where and when people look while listening to speech. Our results showed that listeners—regardless of how they pronounce /r/ themselves—were slightly better at recognizing words when they were spoken with a trill. This latter finding may help explain why the trilled /r/, despite being difficult to pronounce, remains widespread across the world's languages.
Speaker's Profile:
Holger Mitterer obtained his Ph.D. at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience at Maastricht University, successfully defending his dissertation, "Understanding 'gardem bench': Studies on the perception of assimilated word forms," in 2003, which was awarded with the rare distinction “cum laude”. Following his doctorate, Mitterer joined the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, where he worked in Anne Cutler's Language Comprehension Group. He remained there for nine years, progressing from a postdoctoral researcher to a project coordinator. In 2013, Mitterer began his tenure at the University of Malta, contributing to the establishment of the Department of Cognitive Science. During this time, he also was a visiting professor at the Universities of Tübingen in Germany and Gent in Belgium, and he has an honorary position as research professor at Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea. His research interests encompass psycholinguistics and phonetics, focusing on areas such as spoken-word recognition, speech production, and colour perception.
Mitterer has an extensive publication record, with over 100 scholarly articles to his name. His work has garnered significant recognition, reflected in an h-index of 38 in Google Scholar and 30 in Web of Science. Beyond his research, Mitterer has contributed to the academic community through editorial roles. He served as an associate editor for the journal Laboratory Phonology from 2013 to 2018 and currently co-edits Language and Speech alongside Cynthia Clopper from Ohio State University.
Registration:
Admittance is free, but kindly register your interest by writing to <maks@um.edu.mt>
Seminar Programme: https://docs.google.com/
