The relationship between vowel production and perception: native speakers' perception of nativeness in LOT and THOUGHT vowels in Received Pronunciation

English Today ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-47
Author(s):  
Jussi Wikstrom
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Vowel Quality ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Generational Changes ◽  
First Languages ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Received Pronunciation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Individual Speaker

The fact that differences in vowel articulation are important in distinguishing accents of English is well established (Wells, 1982; Cruttenden, 2008; Ng, Chen & Sadaka, 2008; Park, 2009a, 2009b). It is also the case that speakers' production of a particular vowel varies for an individual speaker and between speakers of the ‘same’ accent (Rose, 2002; Cruttenden, 2008). In terms of perception, it is evident that L1 speakers, i.e. speakers for whom the language is the first language or one of the first languages acquired, are often able to recognise vowel articulations which deviate from the norm in their accent, even when the difference in vowel production is not significant enough to be mapped onto another L1 phoneme category, i.e. where the use of the alternative vowel quality could potentially change the meaning of the word (Park, 2009a). It should be acknowledged that any such norms are likely to vary in accordance with generational changes to a particular variety. But studies seeking to establish the degree of interrelatedness of vowel production and speakers' perceived ideal realisation have had mixed results. For example, Hoopingarner (2004) found that L1 speakers' production and preferred realisation were relatively similar, while Ainsworth & Paliwal (1984) and Frieda, Walley, Flege & Sloane (2000) failed to demonstrate such a correlation.

Discussion of Issues Related to Score Use and Interpretation of First Spoken and Signed Language Assessments

2021 ◽  
pp. 75-84
Author(s):  
Patrick Boudreault ◽  
Bernard Camilleri ◽  
Charlotte Enns
Keyword(s):  
Normative Data ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Standardized Assessments ◽  
Deaf Children ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
Heterogenous Group ◽  
Language Assessments ◽  
The Difference

A standardized assessment of spoken languages will collect data from native, monolingual speakers, thus establishing the range of receptive and/or expressive abilities of children across different ages. Similarly, normative data for standardized assessments of signed language are established by collecting data from native signing deaf children. Where the difference arises is the way in which the normative data relate to the target populations and the individuals within those populations who are being assessed. While standardized assessments of spoken language are normed on and predominantly intended for use with native speakers of that language, standardized assessments of signed language are intrinsically designed for use with a heterogenous group of children, of whom only a minority have the opportunity of learning signed language as their native language. In this chapter, key items related to score use and interpretation in first language (L1) assessment that were presented in Chapters 2.1 and 2.2 will be jointly discussed by the authors.

L1 transfer, proficiency, and the recognition of L2 verb-noun collocations: A perspective from three languages

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Senyung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
English Only ◽  
Mixed Effects Modeling ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This study investigated the effect of first language (L1) transfer in the recognition of second language (L2) collocations and unacceptable word combinations across low-intermediate to advanced learners of English, and the relationship between proficiency and the recognition of L2 collocations. The study targeted learners from two different L1 backgrounds and native speakers of English in order to disentangle the effect of L1 transfer from the effect of intralingual factors. Four types of English verb-noun combinations were included: English-Korean-Mandarin, English-only, Korean-only, and Mandarin-only phrases. A phrase acceptability judgment task and a phrase recognition report were used. The performances of 92 participants were analyzed using mixed effects modeling. The results from both Korean and Mandarin groups revealed no L1 influence in the recognition of unacceptable L2 word combinations, even at low levels of proficiency. The results also showed that L2 proficiency predicts learners’ ability to rule out grammatical-but-unacceptable L2 word combinations, but not the ability to recognize L2 collocations

An acoustic comparison of English monophthongs and diphthongs produced by Australian and Thai speakers

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimiko Tsukada
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
First Language ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
Vowel Quality ◽  
Temporal Characteristics ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Phonetic Categories ◽  
Australian English ◽  
Asian Languages

This study investigated acoustic-phonetic characteristics of English vowels (four monophthongs /I æ ~ %/ and two diphthongs /eI o~/) spoken by native speakers of Australian English (AusE, n = 6) and Thai (T, n = 15). The Thai speakers had lived in Australia for an average of 3.2 years. While the Thai speakers did not differ significantly from the AusE speakers in their vowel quality for monophthongs, they were more dissimilar in their production of diphthongs. Specifically, the Thai speakers produced English diphthongs with less formant movement, a phenomenon widely reported for speakers of various other Southeast Asian languages. Differences between the Thai and AusE groups reached statistical significance for the female speakers. As for temporal characteristics, the Thai speakers produced significantly shorter monophthongs, but not diphthongs, than did AusE speakers. As a result, the ratio of monophthongs to diphthongs was much smaller for the Thai (0.53) than for the AusE group (0.72). It appeared that the Thai speakers equated the English diphthongs /eI/ and /o~/ with the long vowels /e˜/ and /o˜/, respectively, in their first language (L1) Thai. Further, their production of the diphthongs may be related to a large number of diphthongs in the Thai vowel inventory, which may encourage its speakers to substitute existing L1 categories for English diphthongs rather than forming authentic, new phonetic categories.

scholarly journals Technology and language learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 103-120
Author(s):  
Huzairin Huzairin ◽  
Gede Eka Putrawan ◽  
Bambang Riadi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Use ◽  
First Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Mobile Assisted Language Learning ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Online Activities ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Relationship

A considerable number of studies on mobile-assisted language learning have been conducted, but less attention has been paid to online informal learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) performed using smartphones among undergraduate EFL learners in Indonesia. Thus, this study was specifically aimed at investigating EFL learners’ most frequently-performed EFL learning activities through smartphones, the predominant online language use, and the relationship between EFL learners’ predominant online language use and their perceived EFL proficiency. The study adopted a quantitative approach. The findings reveal that the participants still more frequently access content and information from their smartphones for receptive rather than interactive/productive online activities. Indonesian, which is the participants’ first language, is still predominantly used for their online activities. The mean score of the perceived EFL proficiency of those who frequently perform online activities in English is statistically and significantly higher than those performing online activities in Indonesian. Overall, the mean score of the perceived EFL proficiency of those performing online activities in English is higher than those in Indonesian, although the difference is not statistically significant. Finally, the study’s implications with suggestions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals A CONSIDERATION OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SPOKEN AND WRITTEN ENGLISH OF NATIVE SPEAKERS AND JAPANESE LEARNERS: A CORPUS-BASED STUDY

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin’ichiro Ishikawa
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Production Mode ◽  
Learner Corpus ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Japanese Learners ◽  
The Relationship

It is often said that speeches and writings vary greatly with regard to vocabulary and grammar. However, how these differences can be seen in language use by English native speakers and non-native speakers has not been wholly elucidated. The current study, using the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE), quantitatively compares topic-controlled speeches and writings by native speakers and Japanese learners of English. Our learner-corpus-based analyses revealed that the difference is not as substantial as widely believed for native speakers in terms of highly frequent words, frequency of eleven textual indices, statistical positioning of individual samples, clustering structure of the indices, and the relationship between the production mode and the indices.

Bilingual adolescent vowel production in the Parisian suburbs

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1291-1315
Author(s):  
Margaret Cychosz
Keyword(s):  
Urban Youth ◽  
Language Change ◽  
First Language ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
The Third ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Language Influence

Aims and objectives: The study examines how bilingualism and adolescent identity interact to influence acoustic vowel patterns. This is examined in students at a secondary school in the socially and economically disadvantaged working-class Parisian suburbs. Design: The front, round vowels /y/, /ø/, and /œ/ were analyzed in the speech of ( N = 22) adolescents. Three student groups were juxtaposed: monolingual Franco-French ( N = 9) and two simultaneous bilingual groups, Arabic-French ( N = 6), and Bantu-French ( N = 7). Crucially, unlike French, these contact languages do not have phonemically round front vowels. Data and analysis: To elicit naturalistic speech, sociolinguistic interviews were conducted with students speaking in dyads or small groups. Vowel roundedness, derived from acoustic measurements of the third formant and the difference between the third and second formants, was compared across speaker groups. Findings: Results show an effect of bilingual status for male speakers – monolingual speakers pattern differently from both bilingual groups. Still, bilingual Bantu-French and Arabic-French speakers show some distinct patterning. This suggests influences beyond first-language phonology on bilingual speakers’ production of French. Originality: This is one of the first studies to look beyond Arabic substrate influence in emerging Hexagonal urban youth vernaculars. It contributes naturalistic data from those most prone to language change, adolescents, for the study of French in contact. Finally, the study proposes a type of ‘laboratory in the field’: because none of the contact languages contrast vowels by roundedness, first-language influence is controlled for and the effect of social stigmatization upon speech can be isolated. Implications: The findings suggest that the social and ethnic divisions between dominant ethnic groups and minorities of immigrant descent may even be reflected in their phonetic patterning. Because these patterns are present in adolescents, who are the source of much language change, a connection between segregation and language change is drawn.

scholarly journals On the role of orthography in L2 vowel production: The case of Polish learners of German

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 623-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Nimz ◽  
Ghada Khattab
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Vowel Quality ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Vowel Length ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Speech Learning

This study investigates the role of orthography in German vowel production by Polish native speakers (L1) with German as a second language (L2). Eighteen intermediate to advanced Polish L2 German learners and 20 German native speakers were recorded during a picture-naming task in which half of the experimental items were explicitly marked in their orthographic representation for their vowel length (short or long). Duration measurements revealed that explicit orthographic marking helped the Polish L2 German learners produce the short-long contrast more native-like. Regarding vowel quality, group differences were interpreted to have been caused by (in)congruencies between L1 and L2 grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences. These findings have important implications for models of L2 speech learning and pronunciation training.

scholarly journals Social beliefs for the realization of the speech acts of apology and complaint as defined in Ciluba, French, and English

Pragmatics ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kashama Mulamba
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
First Language ◽  
Social Beliefs ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Speech Communities ◽  
French And English ◽  
The Difference

Most cross-linguistic studies of speech acts have dealt mainly with two languages, a native language and a second or foreign language (Carrell and Konneker 1981; Castello 1981; Blum-Kulka 1982; Daikuhura 1986; Eisenstein 1986; Wieland 1989; Chen Rong 1993, 2001; Sifianou 2001; Lee 2004, 2005). Neither have they dealt with an African language as the first language. The present study investigates a multilingual situation where the native speakers of Ciluba, French, and English are compared to the trilingual speakers of the three languages in terms of the realization of the speech acts of apologizing and complaining. It considers the social beliefs of the subjects of the four language groups for the realization of the two speech acts. The study is part of a larger study that was designed to discover the norms of the three languages under investigation and to see how people speaking a second and a foreign language, with different levels of fluency in each, can participate in the activity of the speech communities of the two languages without violating their socio-cultural norms, and what impact, if any, their knowledge of these languages has on each of the languages they speak. Data for the larger study was collected by means of a written questionnaire, role plays, and direct observation. The data and results presented and discussed in this paper come from the written questionnaire administered to the monolingual English and French speakers and trilingual speakers native in Ciluba; and from the same version of the questionnaire administered orally to the monolingual Ciluba speakers. It was found that for the realization of the speech acts of apologizing and complaining, Luba socio-cultural beliefs were different from those of English and French, which are similar. In contrast to French and English, in Ciluba social distance and relative power between the participants play an important role in deciding whether the speech acts can be performed or not. The results also revealed that, despite the difference which exists between Ciluba and the other two languages, i.e., French and English, some subjects from the group of Ciluba monolingual subjects showed some similarities with the groups of French and English monolingual subjects in their responses to some items in the questionnaire. This deviation of some of the native speakers of Ciluba from their social beliefs was hypothesized to be a result of their contact with an urban environment and its mixed culture.

Comparison of In-the-Ear and Over-the-Ear Hearing Aid Fittings

1986 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna M. Risberg ◽  
Robyn M. Cox
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Aids ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Comparative Evaluation ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Hearing Aid Fitting ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Functional Gain ◽  
The Relationship

A custom in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid fitting was compared to two over-the-ear (OTE) hearing aid fittings for each of 9 subjects with mild to moderately severe hearing losses. Speech intelligibility via the three instruments was compared using the Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR) test. The relationship between functional gain and coupler gain was compared for the ITE and the higher rated OTE instruments. The difference in input received at the microphone locations of the two types of hearing aids was measured for 10 different subjects and compared to the functional gain data. It was concluded that (a) for persons with mild to moderately severe hearing losses, appropriately adjusted custom ITE fittings typically yield speech intelligibility that is equal to the better OTE fitting identified in a comparative evaluation; and (b) gain prescriptions for ITE hearing aids should be adjusted to account for the high-frequency emphasis associated with in-the-concha microphone placement.

Relationship between total plasma homocysteine and the risk of aneurysms – a meta-analysis

VASA ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Hanji Zhang ◽  
Dexin Yin ◽  
Yue Zhao ◽  
Yezhou Li ◽  
Dejiang Yao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Total Plasma ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Randomized Controlled Studies ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Healthy Participants

Summary: Our meta-analysis focused on the relationship between homocysteine (Hcy) level and the incidence of aneurysms and looked at the relationship between smoking, hypertension and aneurysms. A systematic literature search of Pubmed, Web of Science, and Embase databases (up to March 31, 2020) resulted in the identification of 19 studies, including 2,629 aneurysm patients and 6,497 healthy participants. Combined analysis of the included studies showed that number of smoking, hypertension and hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) in aneurysm patients was higher than that in the control groups, and the total plasma Hcy level in aneurysm patients was also higher. These findings suggest that smoking, hypertension and HHcy may be risk factors for the development and progression of aneurysms. Although the heterogeneity of meta-analysis was significant, it was found that the heterogeneity might come from the difference between race and disease species through subgroup analysis. Large-scale randomized controlled studies of single species and single disease species are needed in the future to supplement the accuracy of the results.

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