CURRENT RESEARCH
Perception of Complex Sounds
At the crux of the present-day discourse on L2 phonological perception lies the prediction that adult listeners often have difficulties perceiving sounds that are not in their L1. While a lot is known about non-native listeners' behavior on single-articulated sounds, what listeners will do with single non-native sounds that share features of two native sounds is relatively unknown. My research explores this area, seeking to examine the influence of native language experience in such instances.
Presentations
Upcoming
2025
Ajibade, Matthew, Darcy Isabelle, Kenneth De Jong. CV transitions and L1 experience explain perceptual discrimination of Yoruba labial-velar stops [Oral Presentation]. To be presented at the New Sounds 2025: The International Symposium on the Acquisition of Second Language Speech, University of Toronto, Canada (April 22-25).
Ajibade, Matthew & De Jong, Kenneth. Phonological experience and the perception of competing acoustic cues in labial-velar stops [Poster]. To be presented at the 25th Linguistic Society of America (LSA) Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA (Jan 9-12, 2025).
Past presentations
2024
Ajibade, Matthew (2024, Nov 7-10). Heritage speakers’ perceptual phonological advantage over non-native listeners is not a universal phenomenon [Oral Talk]. To be presented at The 49th Annual Boston University Conference of Language Development (BUCLD 49), Boston, MA.
Ajibade, Matthew & De Jong, Kenneth (2024, Oct 4-5). Native phonological effects and the perceptual salience of -CV transitions in intervocalic labial-velar stops [Oral Talk]. 29th Mid-Continental Phonetics and Phonology Conference (MidPhon 29), University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
Ajibade, Matthew (2024, May 2-4). Perception of Yoruba [gb] across listener groups. 55th Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL), McGill University, Canada.
2023
Ajibade, Matthew. (2023, October 20-21). Perception of labial-velar voicing contrast [poster presentation (available here]. MidPhon 28, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN cla.purdue.edu/academic/sis/p/linguistics/midphon28/images/programfinal1019.pdf
The Phonology of Heritage and Non-Heritage Yoruba Speakers
It is well-known that heritage speakers are different from both native speakers and L2 learners of any given language, although the specific details of such differences differ across languages. My work examines the distinctions and similarities between native Yoruba speakers, heritage speakers, and naive listeners, focusing on phonological perception.
Presentations
2024
Ajibade, Matthew (2024, Nov 7-10). Heritage speakers’ perceptual phonological advantage over non-native listeners is not a universal phenomenon [Oral Talk]. To be presented at The 49th Annual Boston University Conference of Language Development (BUCLD 49), Boston, MA.
Phonologically-conditioned changes in Yoruba negation markers
Languages change over time. In collaboration with Kaosarat Aina, we are tracing some changes in Yoruba negation markers, taking into consideration issues of phonology and social variables responsible for the change.
Presentations
Ajibade, Matthew & Aina Kaosarat. (2023, April 14-15). Diachronic change in Yoruba negation marker “Kò” + 1st-person pronoun: Implication for Yoruba teaching. African Language Teachers Association Conference, Washington DC.
Other Works
Publications
Lotven, Samson & Matthew Ajibade (Forthcoming). Morphology in Gengbe and Yoruba ideophones, In Green, Christopher R. & Lotven, Samson (eds.), The Ghanaian linguistics nexus. (Contemporary African Linguistics). Berlin: Language Science Press. langsci-press.org/catalog/book/427
Ajibade, Matthew (Accepted). Sonority-driven in a Yoruba child consonant harmony system, In African Languages on the Rise: A Festschrift for Francis Egbokhare.
Ajibade, Matthew. 2023. A construction morphology approach to Yoruba numerals. Constructions, 15(2). doi.org/10.24338/cons-549