# Phonological Feature Posteriors and Cue-Specific Accent Perception in Hindi- and Tamil-Accented English

## TL;DR

This study shows that how strong an accent is perceived depends on specific phonological features in Hindi- and Tamil-accented English.

## Contribution

The study introduces a perception-grounded account of accentedness using phonological feature posteriors from a machine learning model.

## Key findings

- Perceived accent strength in Hindi- and Tamil-accented English varies with specific phonological features.
- Not all phonetic variations contribute to perceived accentedness, showing cue-specific patterns.
- Phonological feature posteriors from Phonet provide interpretable categories for evaluating L2 production differences.

## Abstract

Background/Objectives: Accented speech reflects systematic deviation from target-language phonetic norms. This study demonstrates that perceived accent strength covaries with selective, gradient differences in phonological feature realization. We examine whether perceived accents in Hindi- and Tamil-accented English reflect uniform segmental deviation or cue-specific patterns of phonological feature realization. Methods: English speech produced by native speakers of Hindi and Tamil was evaluated using native listener accentedness ratings. Phonetic variation was analyzed using posterior probabilities of phonological features derived from a machine learning model, Phonet. The analyses focused on liquids (laterals and rhotics (e.g., /l/, /ɭ/, and /ɻ/) and labial segments in the fricative–glide space (e.g., /v/, /w/, and /ʋ/), with attention to word position and feature-level generalization. Results: Accentedness ratings differed systematically for Hindi- and Tamil-accented English and covaried with a subset of phonological feature dimensions, yielding contrast- and context-specific patterns of perceptually relevant variation. Not all features that varied in production contributed to perceived accent strength. Conclusions: These findings support a cue-specific, perception-grounded account of accentedness and establish phonological feature posteriors derived from Phonet as interpretable phonological categories through which gradient L2 production differences are evaluated by listeners.