Speech cues to deception in bilinguals

AbstractAcoustic cues to deception on a picture-naming task were analyzed in three groups of English speakers: monolinguals, bilinguals with English as their first language, and bilinguals with English as a second language. Results revealed that all participants had longer reaction times when generating falsehoods than when producing truths, and that the effect was more robust for English as a second language bilinguals than for the other two groups. Articulation rate was higher for all groups when producing lies. Mean fundamental frequency and intensity cues were not reliable cues to deception, but there was lower variance in both of these parameters when generating false versus true labels for all participants. Results suggest that naming latency was the only cue to deception that differed by language background. These findings broadly support the cognitive-load theory of deception, suggesting that a combination of producing deceptive speech and using a second language puts an extra load on the speaker.

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Second language effects on ambiguity resolution in the first language

EUROSLA Yearbook ◽

10.1075/eurosla.12.10bri ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. 191-217 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christie Brien ◽

Laura L. Sabourin

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

First Language ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Semantic Context ◽

English Speakers ◽

Canadian English ◽

Lexical Frequency ◽

Priming Effects ◽

Frequency Effects ◽

Language Effects

The processing of homonyms is complex considering homonyms have many lexical properties. For instance, train contains semantic (a locomotive/to instruct) and syntactic (noun/verb) properties, each affecting interpretation. Previous studies find homonym processing influenced by lexical frequency (Duffy et al. 1988) as well as syntactic and semantic context (Folk & Morris 2003; Swinney 1979; Tanenhaus et al. 1979). This cross-modal lexical-decision study investigates second language (L2) effects on homonym processing in the first language (L1). Participants were monolingual English speakers and Canadian English/French bilinguals who acquired L2 French at distinct periods. The early bilinguals revealed no significant differences compared to monolinguals (p = .219) supporting the Reordered Access Model (Duffy et al. 1988). However, the late bilinguals revealed longer reaction times, syntactic priming effects (p < .001), and lexical frequency effects (p < .001), suggesting a heightened sensitivity to surface cues influencing homonym processing in the L1 due to a newly-acquired L2 (Cook 2003).

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Delayed picture naming in the first and second language

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728920000620 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Wouter P. J. Broos ◽

Alice Bencivenni ◽

Wouter Duyck ◽

Robert J. Hartsuiker

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Reaction Time ◽

Picture Naming ◽

First Language ◽

Naming Task ◽

English Speakers ◽

Lexical Retrieval ◽

Production Stages ◽

Complex Words ◽

Phonological Complexity

Abstract Second language (L2) speakers produce speech more slowly than first language (L1) speakers. This may be due to a delay in lexical retrieval, but it is also possible that the delay is situated at later stages. This study used delayed picture naming to test whether late production stages (leading up to articulation) are slower in L2 than in L1. Dutch–English unbalanced bilinguals performed a regular and a delayed picture naming task in English and Dutch. Monolingual English controls performed these tasks in English. Speakers were slower when naming pictures in L2 during regular picture naming but not in delayed naming. Reaction time costs of using L2 did not vary with phonological complexity, but there was a larger L2 cost in accuracy with more complex words. We conclude that the very last stages prior to articulation are not significantly slower when bilinguals name pictures in their L2.

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PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSING OF STRESS BY NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS LEARNING SPANISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263121000309 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-23

Author(s):

Ramsés Ortín ◽

Miquel Simonet

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Phonological Processing ◽

First Language ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

Recall Task ◽

English Speakers ◽

Auditory Stimuli ◽

L2 Learners ◽

L1 English ◽

Processing Stress

Abstract One feature of Spanish that presents some difficulties to second language (L2) learners whose first language (L1) is English concerns lexical stress. This study explores one aspect of the obstacle these learners face, weak phonological processing routines concerning stress inherited from their native language. Participants were L1 English L2 learners of Spanish. The experiment was a sequence-recall task with auditory stimuli minimally contrasting in stress (target) or segmental composition (baseline). The results suggest that learners are more likely to accurately recall sequences with stimuli contrasting in segmental composition than stress, suggesting reduced phonological processing of stress relative to a processing baseline. Furthermore, an increase in proficiency—assessed by means of grammatical and lexical tests—was found to be modestly associated with an increase in the accuracy of processing stress. We conclude that the processing routines of native English speakers lead to an acquisitional obstacle when learning Spanish as a L2.

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English Speakers’ Implicit Gender Concepts Influence Their Processing of French Grammatical Gender: Evidence for Semantically Mediated Cross-Linguistic Influence

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.740920 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Elena Nicoladis ◽

Chris Westbury ◽

Cassandra Foursha-Stevenson

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Response Time ◽

Response Times ◽

First Language ◽

Grammatical Gender ◽

Word Embedding ◽

English Speakers ◽

French Words ◽

L1 English ◽

French Gender

Second language (L2) learners often show influence from their first language (L1) in all domains of language. This cross-linguistic influence could, in some cases, be mediated by semantics. The purpose of the present study was to test whether implicit English gender connotations affect L1 English speakers’ judgments of the L2 French gender of objects. We hypothesized that gender estimates derived from word embedding models that measure similarity of word contexts in English would affect accuracy and response time on grammatical gender (GG) decision in L2 French. L2 French learners were asked to identify the GG of French words estimated to be either congruent or incongruent with the implicit gender in English. The results showed that they were more accurate with words that were congruent with English gender connotations than words that were incongruent, suggesting that English gender connotations can influence grammatical judgments in French. Response times showed the same pattern. The results are consistent with semantics-mediated cross-linguistic influence.

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SPOKEN AND WRITTEN REPRESENTATION OF NUMBER IN L2 CATALAN INDEFINITE DETERMINER PHRASES

Catalan Review ◽

10.3828/catr.21.14 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 321-350

Author(s):

Liliana Tolchinski ◽

Naymé Salas ◽

Joan Perera

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Literacy Instruction ◽

First Language ◽

Control Group ◽

Similar Time ◽

Language Background ◽

Indefinite Article ◽

L2 Learners ◽

L1 Influence ◽

The Relationship

The study explores the relationship that second language (L2) learners of Catalan establish between the spoken and the written representation of number inflection within an indefinite-article Determiner Phrase (DP); and it also addresses first language (L1) influence in this processo Five- to eight-year-olds, speakers of varieties of Chinese and Moroccan Arabic, with differing degrees of literacy instruction in their home countries —but similar time of residence in Catalonia— participated in the study. The children carried out individual semi-structured tasks designed to evaluate comprehension and production of changes in number inflections (un cotxe ‘a car’; uns cotxes ‘a-pl cars ’). Results showed that, irrespective of children’s language background, comprehension preceded production of singular and plural indefinite-article DPs; spoken representation was easier than written representation of number changes; and production of plural indefinite-article DPs was more difficult than its singular counterpart. Despite typological differences between the languages compared, both groups of L2 learners, even the Catalan control group, underwent similar processes.

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Educational failure or success

Australian Review of Applied Linguistics ◽

10.1075/aral.36.3.05dix ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 302-315 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Sally Dixon

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

First Language ◽

Poor Performance ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

English Speakers ◽

Standard English ◽

Students First ◽

Use Of Assessment

Within the Australian education system, Aboriginal students’ use of non-standard English features is often viewed simplistically as evidence of non-attainment of literacy and oral-English milestones. One reason for this is the widespread use of assessment tools which fail to differentiate between native- English speakers and students who are learning English as a second language. In these assessments, non-standard English features are framed as ‘mistakes’ and low scores taken as evidence of ‘poor’ performance. This paper will contrast a mistake-oriented analysis with one that incorporates knowledge of the students’ first language. It will clearly show that when consideration is given to the first language, a more nuanced picture of English proficiency emerges: one that is attuned to the specific second language learning pathway and thus far better placed to inform both assessment and classroom instruction.i

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Variability and consistency in late bilinguals’ morphology

The Mental Lexicon ◽

10.1075/ml.18002.jes ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 186-214

Author(s):

Anna Jessen ◽

João Veríssimo ◽

Harald Clahsen

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

First Language ◽

English Speakers ◽

Control Group ◽

Brain Potentials ◽

Grammatical Morphology ◽

Frontal Negativity ◽

Complex Words ◽

L1 English ◽

Late Bilinguals

Abstract Speaking a late-learned second language (L2) is supposed to yield more variable and less consistent output than speaking one’s first language (L1), particularly with respect to reliably adhering to grammatical morphology. The current study investigates both internal processes involved in encoding morphologically complex words – by recording event-related brain potentials (ERPs) during participants’ silent productions – and the corresponding overt output. We specifically examined compounds with plural or singular modifiers in English. Thirty-one advanced L2 speakers of English (L1: German) were compared to a control group of 20 L1 English speakers from an earlier study. We found an enhanced (right-frontal) negativity during (silent) morphological encoding for compounds produced from regular plural forms relative to compounds formed from irregular plurals, replicating the ERP effect obtained for the L1 group. The L2 speakers’ overt productions, however, were significantly less consistent than those of the L1 speakers on the same task. We suggest that L2 speakers employ the same mechanisms for morphological encoding as L1 speakers, but with less reliance on grammatical constraints than L1 speakers.

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The Effect of Instructed Second Language Learning on the Acoustic Properties of First Language Speech

Languages ◽

10.3390/languages5040044 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 44

Author(s):

Olga Dmitrieva ◽

Allard Jongman ◽

Joan A. Sereno

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Language Learners ◽

First Language ◽

Acoustic Properties ◽

English Speakers ◽

Classroom Language ◽

L1 Use ◽

Russian Norms ◽

Phonetic Study

This paper reports on a comprehensive phonetic study of American classroom learners of Russian, investigating the influence of the second language (L2) on the first language (L1). Russian and English productions of 20 learners were compared to 18 English monolingual controls focusing on the acoustics of word-initial and word-final voicing. The results demonstrate that learners’ Russian was acoustically different from their English, with shorter voice onset times (VOTs) in [−voice] stops, longer prevoicing in [+voice] stops, more [−voice] stops with short lag VOTs and more [+voice] stops with prevoicing, indicating a degree of successful L2 pronunciation learning. Crucially, learners also demonstrated an L1 phonetic change compared to monolingual English speakers. Specifically, the VOT of learners’ initial English voiceless stops was shortened, indicating assimilation with Russian, while the frequency of prevoicing in learners’ English was decreased, indicating dissimilation with Russian. Word-final, the duration of preceding vowels, stop closures, frication, and voicing during consonantal constriction all demonstrated drift towards Russian norms of word-final voicing neutralization. The study confirms that L2-driven phonetic changes in L1 are possible even in L1-immersed classroom language learners, challenging the role of reduced L1 use and highlighting the plasticity of the L1 phonetic system.

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English Nasalance Values of Chinese Learners of English

Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica ◽

10.1159/000510940 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Yilan Liu ◽

Sue Ann S. Lee

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Mandarin Chinese ◽

Language Production ◽

First Language ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

Potential Effect ◽

English Speakers ◽

Chinese Speakers ◽

Chinese Learners ◽

Chinese Learners Of English

Introduction: Although a number of studies have been conducted to investigate nasalance scores of speakers of different languages, little research has examined the nasalance characteristics of second language learners. Objective: The goal of the current study was to examine whether English nasalance values of Mandarin Chinese speakers are similar to those of native English speakers, examining the potential effect of the first language on the nasalance scores of the second language production. Methods: Thirty-two adults (16 Mandarin Chinese speakers and 16 native English speakers) with a normal velopharyngeal anatomy participated. Nasalance scores of various speech stimuli were obtained using a nasometer and compared between the 2 groups. Results and Conclusions: Chinese learners of English produced higher nasalance scores than native English speakers on prolonged vowel /i/ and /a/, the syllable “nin,” and non-nasal sentences and passages. The first language effect on nasalance of the second language found in the current study suggests the importance of linguistic consideration in the clinical evaluation of resonance.

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The Production of New and Similar Vowels by Adult German Learners of English

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263100010792 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 131-158 ◽

Cited By ~ 123

Author(s):

Ocke-Schwen Bohn ◽

James Emil Flege

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

English Language ◽

First Language ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

English Speakers ◽

Control Group ◽

Language Experience ◽

English Vowels ◽

L1 English ◽

Positive Effect

The study reported in this paper examined the effect of second language (L2) experience on the production of L2 vowels for which acoustic counterparts are either present or absent in the first language (L1). The hypothesis being tested was that amount of L2 experience would not affect L1 German speakers' production of the “similar” English vowels /i, l, ∈/, whereas English language experience would enable L1 Germans to produce an English-like /æ/, which has no counterpart in German. The predictions were tested in two experiments that compared the production of English /i, l, ∈, æ/ by two groups of L1 German speakers differing in English language experience and an L1 English control group. An acoustic experiment compared the three groups for spectral and temporal characteristics of the English vowels produced in /bVt/ words. The same tokens were assessed for intelligibility in a labeling experiment. The results of both experiments were largely consistent with the hypothesis. The experienced L2 speakers did not produce the similar English vowels /i, l, ∈/ more intelligibly than the inexperienced L2 speakers, not did experience have a positive effect on approximating the English acoustic norms for these similar vowels. The intelligibility results for the new vowel /æ/ did not clearly support the model. However, the acoustic comparisons showed that the experienced but not the inexperienced L2 speakers produced the new vowel /æ/ in much the same way as the native English speakers.

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