Phonetics and Phonology of Sibilants
I have examined the phonetic underpinnings of sibilant contrasts in languages with rich sibilant inventories, and my current work explores how social factors interact with abstract linguistic representations to shape variation in their realization.
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im and Hsiang-Yu Tung. Linguistic experience and social factors in speech perception: The case of merged speakers of Mandarin sibilants. [PDF]
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im and Yun-Chieh Chou. Unmerging the sibilant merger via phonetic imitation: Phonetic, Phonological, and social factors. [PDF]
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im and Yun-Chieh Chou. Unmerging the sibilant merger among speakers of Taiwan Mandarin. [PDF]
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im. Revisiting Mandarin "apical vowels": an articulatory and acoustic study [PDF]
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im, Shigeto Kawahara, and Seunghun J. Lee. The "Whistled" fricative in Xitsonga: its articulation and acoustics [PDF]
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im. Spectral analysis of Mandarin Chinese sibilant fricatives. [PDF]
Tones, Segments, and Acquisition
My research program investigates how general cognitive biases and abstract phonological structures shape the acquisition of novel categories. To this end, I have developed projects examining the perception, production, and processing of tones and segments in language learners.
Qin, Zhen, Sang-Im Lee-Kim, and Haifeng Qi. The effect of second-language learning experience on Korean listeners' use of pitch cues in the perception of Cantonese tones. [PDF]
Weng, Wei-Cheng and Sang-Im Lee-Kim. Loss of unreleased final stops among Mandarin-Min bilinguals: Structural convergence of languages in contact. [PDF]
Gussenhoven, Carlos, Yu-an Lu, Sang-Im Lee-Kim, Chunhui Liu, Hamed Rahmani, Tomas Riad, and Hatoice Zora. The Sequence Recall Task and lexicality of tone: Exploring tone "deafness". [PDF]
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im, Xinran Ren, and Peggy Mok. Phonological similarity effects in cross-script word processing: Evidence from
Sino-Korean word processing by Cantonese learners. [PDF]
Lu, Yu-an and Sang-Im Lee-Kim. The effect of linguistic experience on perceived vowel duration: Evidence from Taiwan Mandarin speakers. [PDF]
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im. Development of Mandarin tones and segments by Korean learners: from naive listeners to novice learners [PDF]
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im. Contrastive perception of duration and F0 cues for stop categorization [PDF]
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im. Stop laryngeal distinction driven by contrastive effects of neighboring tones [PDF]
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im. Tone-induced split in stop category mapping by Korean learners of Mandarin Chinese [PDF]
Phonology-Morphology Interface
Another branch of my research program examines the interaction between phonology and other grammatical modules, particularly the role of morphological structure and lexical representations in shaping phonological patterns.
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im. Syntax-based phonological asymmetries: the case of adjective reduplication in Mandarin Chinese [PDF]
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im, Sangjin Hwang, and Lisa Davidson. Morphological effects on the darkness of English intervocalic /l/ [PDF]