Yoichi Mukai

Chair of Modern Languages Studies Department

Vancouver Island University

Welcome to my website

I am a linguist whose research focuses on the phonetics and psycholinguistics of spoken language. My work centres on four questions:

How does spelling influence speech?
How does spontaneous speech differ from careful speech?
How do a bilingual’s languages influence each other?
What makes second-language speech sound fluent?

To answer these questions, I study both native and non-native speakers using a range of experimental methods. I analyze the acoustic details of their speech and track changes in their pupil size to measure the cognitive effort behind producing and understanding spoken language.

My Lab: Linguistic Research Laboratory
My Academic Tree: LinguisTree

“All Things Language: Linguistics of VIU”, the VIU Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series 2024

Interests

Pupillometry
Orthographic Consistency
Spontaneous Speech
L2 Fluency
Japanese Linguistics

Education

Ph.D. in Linguistics, 2020
University of Alberta
M.A. in Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies, 2014
Carleton University

Skills

RStudio

Data Analysis and Visualization

Statistics

Generalized Additive Mixed-effects Model; Linear Mixed-Effects Model; Random Forest

Praat

The scientific analysis of speech in phonetics

Pupillometry

The measurement of pupil dilation over time

Latex

The production of technical and scientific documentation

Language

Japanese; English

Publications

Quickly discover relevant content by filtering publications.

Durational variability of spontaneous and read speech: Comparison between English and Japanese

The present work examines the cross-linguistic effects of speech style and phonetic reduction. Specifically, we focus on the durational …

Yoichi Mukai, Daniel Brenner, Benjamin V. Tucker (2025) Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics

Durational variability of spontaneous and read speech: Comparison between English and Japanese

Massive Auditory Lexical Decision

This article briefly introduces the Massive Auditory Lexical Decision database. Examples of analyses and investigations are briefly …

Benjamin V. Tucker, Matthew C. Kelley, Yoichi Mukai, Filip Nenadić, Scott James Perry (2024) In Nesi, H., & Milin, P. (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, 3rd Edition

Massive Auditory Lexical Decision

The role of phonology-to-orthography consistency in predicting the degree of pupil dilation induced in processing reduced and unreduced speech

The relationship between the ways in which words are pronounced and spelled has been shown to affect spoken word processing and a …

Yoichi Mukai, Juhani Järvikivi, Benjamin V. Tucker (2023) Applied Psycholinguistics

The role of phonology-to-orthography consistency in predicting the degree of pupil dilation induced in processing reduced and unreduced speech

Bidirectional cross-linguistic influence with different-script languages: Evidence from eye tracking

This study compared patterns of non-selective cross-language activation in L1 and L2 word recognition with different-script bilinguals. …

Jamie Taylor, Yoichi Mukai (2023) Applied Psycholinguistics

Source Document DOI

Bidirectional cross-linguistic influence with different-script languages: Evidence from eye tracking

Spontaneous Speech

Phonetic research investigates how speakers and listeners use speech to convey messages. The speech produced to encode a particular …

Benjamin V. Tucker, Yoichi Mukai (2023) Cambridge University Press

Spontaneous Speech

See all publications

Presentations

Quickly discover relevant content by filtering presentations.

The effect of reduction and orthographic consistency in an auditory repetition task

2025-12-07 12:00 AM Honolulu, Hawaii

Yoichi Mukai, Averi Alexandría Genandt, Benjamin V. Tucker

The effect of reduction and orthographic consistency in an auditory repetition task

Pupillometry-based measurement of L1 and L2 fluency: Pupil dilation as a proxy for cognitive fluency

2025-09-28 12:00 AM Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona

Yoichi Mukai, Benjamin V. Tucker

The role of fluency and rhythm in the assessment of task delivery

2025-09-27 12:00 AM Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona

Takayuki Konishi, Yoichi Mukai, Shungo Suzuki, Kyoko Hitomi , Ryuki Matsuura, Katsunori Kanzawa

The role of fluency and rhythm in the assessment of task delivery

Durational variability of spontaneous and read speech: Comparison between English and Japanese

2025-05-18 12:00 AM New Orleans, Louisiana

Yoichi Mukai, Daniel Brenner, Benjamin V. Tucker

Durational variability of spontaneous and read speech: Comparison between English and Japanese

Nihongo Kikusasaizu: A web-based audiovisual resource for teaching and learning Japanese

2021-08-18 12:00 AM University of Alberta (online), Edmonton

Hiromi Aoki, Jotaro Arimori, Yoriko Gillard, Yoichi Mukai, Seiko Roberts, Naoko Takei, Kaori Tanaka

Projects

Manuscripts submitted or in preparation

Pupillometry-based mesurement of L1 and L2 fluency

Mukai, Yoichi. (in preparation)

Phonetic variability of stops and nasals in Japanese across a range of speaking styles

Mukai, Y., & Tucker, B. V. (in preparation)

Examining cognitive control in people with aphasia: Evidence from pupillometry

Mukai, Y., Wilson.C., Figeys, M., Suleman, S., Garcia, R., & Kim, E.S. (in preparation)

Teaching Experience

Chair of Modern Languages Studies Department

Modern Languages Studies Department at Vancouver Island University

May 2025 – Present Nanaimo, BC, Canada

Faculty - Japanese & Linguistics

Modern Languages Studies Department at Vancouver Island University

Aug 2019 – Present Nanaimo, BC, Canada

Japanese & Linguistics:

Basic Japanese I & II
Intermediate Japanese I & II
Introduction to Language and Linguistics
Language and Linguistics in Use
Introduction to Second Language Acquisition

Instructor - Phonetics

Department of Linguistics at the University of Alberta

Jul 2019 – Aug 2019 Edmonton, AB, Canada

Instructor - Phonetics

Department of Linguistics at the University of Alberta

Jul 2018 – Aug 2018 Edmonton, AB, Canada

Instructor - Conversational Japanese

School of Linguistics and Language Studies & Summer Institute of Language and Culture at Carleton University

May 2014 – Jun 2014 Ottawa, ON, Canada

Instructor - Elementary Japanese for diplomats

Interlanguages Language School, the Canadian Foreign Service Institute, the Learning Institution of the Global Affairs Canada

May 2014 – Jun 2014 Gatineau, QC, Canada

Instructor - Introduction to Japanese

Décanat de la formation continue et des partenariats (DFCP) à lˈUniversité du Québec en Outaouais

Sep 2012 – Dec 2012 Gatineau, QC, Canada

Instructor - Elementary to Advanced Japanese

Ottawa Japanese Language School

Sep 2010 – Dec 2014 Ottawa, ON, Canada

Additional Training

Visiting PhD student

Nagoya University Sep 2017 – Dec 2017

Spring Training in Experimental Psycholinguistics

University of Alberta May 2016 – May 2016

Linguistic Society of America Summer Institute

University of Chicago Jul 2015 – Jul 2015

Spring Training in Experimental Psycholinguistics

University of Alberta May 2015 – May 2015

Teachers of English as a Second/Foreign Language Program (TESOL)

Algonquin College Sep 2009 – Apr 2010