Research
Phonetics and Phonology of Sibilants
Using ultrasound and spectral analyses, I have studied the phonetic basis of the phonology of sibilant contrasts in languages with many sibilants in the inventory. My current work probe into the interactions between social factors and abstract linguistic representations that give rise to variations in the sibilant merger in Taiwan Mandarin.
Lee-Kim, Sang-Im and Hsiang-Yu Tung. Sibilant perception by merged speakers: the case of Taiwan Mandarin. [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 addresses the broad question of how general cognitive biases and abstract phonological structures mediate the way in which novel categories are acquired. With this overarching goal in mind, I have developed various projects probing perception, production, and processing patterns of tones and segments by 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 focuses on the interaction between phonology and other modules in grammar. I have examined English intervocalic /l/s and Mandarin reduplication patterns, and I am hoping to investigate how the strength of the morphological boundary is manifested at the phonetic level in my future study.
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]