一連串的研究顯示，分辨子音會基於其聲學的特徵，本實驗試圖發現受測者在只給一小段片段的母音過渡，其指認尾音的正確率受何種因素影響。十位汕頭的受測者，需要在/p,t,k,?/四個選項中，選出正確的答案，而汕頭是屬於不允許/ap/跟/at/ 的語言，結果顯示其正確率為: /p/>/k/, /?/> /t/ 0 /p/ 在/a/ 之後的正確率是最高的。我們的解釋是因為/t/ • /k/ 還有/?/的第二共振峰在/a/ 之後比較類似，都是上升的方向，而/p/ 在/a/ 之後的第二共振峰為下降的，在受測者每次都只聽到每個母音過渡的一小片段的實驗設計之下'/p/ 的正確率顯著高於/t,k,?/。本研究結果證明第二共振峰對於受測者在指認母音上，有其不變性;而/t,k,?/之區辨在於其對於/ak/ 跟/a ?/屬於汕頭字彙之一環。

A series of studies has shown that consonants can be categorized by their acousticcharacter. A gating experiment was designed to recognize the factors used toidentify terminal plosives correctly. Nine native residents of Shantou, in China'sGuangdong Province, were recruited as subjects. The dialect spoken in Shantou doesnot allow * /ap/ and * /at/. Participants were asked to identify /taC/ and /kaC/under conditions where C is one of the four choices /p, t, k, 1/. The overall rate ofaccuracy, from highest to lowest, was /p/> /k/, /?/> /t/. 1n general, the similaritiesin the formant transitions of 舟， k, 1/, also observed by Tartter et al. (1983), confusedsubjects, which resulted in a higher recognition rate for the labial stop. Results suggestedthat the subjects' language background helped discriminate the remainingsounds; for example, /k, 1/ were correctly identified more often than /t/.