EFFECTS OF AGE AND SPEAKING RATE ON VOICE ONSET TIME

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Stölten ◽  
Niclas Abrahamsson ◽  
Kenneth Hyltenstam
Keyword(s):  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Future Research ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Rate Effects ◽  
Word Duration ◽  
Early Learners

As part of a research project on the investigation of second language (L2) ultimate attainment in 41 Spanish early and late near-native speakers of L2 Swedish, the present study reports on voice onset time (VOT) analyses of the production of Swedish word-initial voiceless stops, /p t k/. Voice onset time is analyzed in milliseconds as well as in percentages of word duration, thereby accounting for speaking rate effects. The results revealed an overall age effect on VOT production; however, this age effect became salient and statistically significant for all three stops only when speaking rate was taken into consideration. Similarly, when speaking rate was accounted for, only a small minority of the late learners exhibited actual nativelike L2 behavior, and most (but far from all) early learners performed within native-speaker range. The results are taken as an indication for relative VOT, as opposed to absolute VOT, constituting a reliable measure of nativelike L2 stop production, which has important implications for future research on age effects and maturational constraints in L2 acquisition.

Phonetic Imitation by Young Children and Its Developmental Changes

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 2065-2075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuniko Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Third Graders ◽  
Developmental Changes ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Before And After

Purpose In the current study, the author investigated the developmental course of phonetic imitation in childhood, and further evaluated existing accounts of phonetic imitation. Method Sixteen preschoolers, 15 third graders, and 18 college students participated in the current study. An experiment with a modified imitation paradigm with a picture-naming task was conducted, in which participants' voice-onset time (VOT) was compared before and after they were exposed to target speech with artificially increased VOT. Results Extended VOT in the target speech was imitated by preschoolers and 3rd graders as well as adults, confirming previous findings in phonetic imitation. Furthermore, an age effect of phonetic imitation was observed; namely, children showed greater imitation than adults, whereas the degree of imitation was comparable between preschoolers and 3rd graders. No significant effect of gender or word specificity was observed. Conclusions Young children imitated fine phonetic details of the target speech, and greater degree of phonetic imitation was observed in children compared to adults. These findings suggest that the degree of phonetic imitation negatively correlates with phonological development.

The Word Unit in Second Language Speech Production and Perception

1994 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Emil Flege ◽  
Murray J. Munro
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Speech Acquisition ◽  
Language Identity ◽  
Phonetic Errors ◽  
Early Learners ◽  
Second Language Speech Production ◽  
Entire Word

The purpose of this study, which focused on the wordtacoas spoken in Spanish and English, was to explore the word as a unit in second language (L2) speech acquisition. As expected, acoustic measurements revealed that Spanish and English monolinguals' renditions oftacodiffered systematically. It was also shown that the extent to which Spanish/English bilinguals approximated English phonetic norms for any one segment oftacowas correlated with their approximation for the other three segments, and that early learners differentiated Spanish versus Englishtacomore than did late learners. It also appeared that the bilinguals produced /t/ with less English-like voice onset time (VOT) values in Englishtacothan in other English words without a cognate in Spanish. In a perception experiment, listeners were able to identify the native language of Spanish and English monolinguals on the basis of their production oftaco. The listeners heard larger differences between Spanish and Englishtacotokens spoken by early than late learners of English L2. Two additional perception experiments assessed further the phonetic dimensions that listeners use to determine language identity and to gauge bilinguals' speech production accuracy. Listeners assigned to language identification and goodness rating tasks responded to acoustic information distributed over all four segments intaco, although the VOT of the word-initial /t/ appeared to be the single most important phonetic dimension. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that (a) bilinguals' accuracy in producing the various segments of a second language word may be interrelated and (b) in judging L2 speech, listeners respond to phonetic errors distributed over the entire word.

scholarly journals Second language attainment and first language attrition: The case of VOT in immersed Dutch–German late bilinguals

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antje Stoehr ◽  
Titia Benders ◽  
Janet G van Hell ◽  
Paula Fikkert
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
The Other ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L1 Attrition ◽  
At Home ◽  
Late Bilinguals

Speech of late bilinguals has frequently been described in terms of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) from the native language (L1) to the second language (L2), but CLI from the L2 to the L1 has received relatively little attention. This article addresses L2 attainment and L1 attrition in voicing systems through measures of voice onset time (VOT) in two groups of Dutch–German late bilinguals in the Netherlands. One group comprises native speakers of Dutch and the other group comprises native speakers of German, and the two groups further differ in their degree of L2 immersion. The L1-German–L2-Dutch bilinguals ( N = 23) are exposed to their L2 at home and outside the home, and the L1-Dutch–L2-German bilinguals ( N = 18) are only exposed to their L2 at home. We tested L2 attainment by comparing the bilinguals’ L2 to the other bilinguals’ L1, and L1 attrition by comparing the bilinguals’ L1 to Dutch monolinguals ( N = 29) and German monolinguals ( N = 27). Our findings indicate that complete L2 immersion may be advantageous in L2 acquisition, but at the same time it may cause L1 phonetic attrition. We discuss how the results match the predictions made by Flege’s Speech Learning Model and explore how far bilinguals’ success in acquiring L2 VOT and maintaining L1 VOT depends on the immersion context, articulatory constraints and the risk of sounding foreign accented.

Development of speech perception and speech production abilities in adult second language learners

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Gass
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Nonnative Speaker ◽  
Nonnative Speakers Of English ◽  
Target Languages

ABSTRACTThis study examines the acquisition of production and perception by adult learners of English. The particular focus is voice onset time of initial /b/'s and /p/'s. The subjects are 10 nonnative speakers of English and six native speakers who provided identification responses to synthesized stimuli varying along a voice onset time continuum. Additionally, they each produced words with initial /b/'s and /p/'s. These measures were repeated at three 1-month intervals for the nonnative speakers. The results show that nonnative speaker perception differs from native speaker perception in two important ways: (1) stop consonants are perceived continuously rather than categorically and (2) nonnative speaker perception is influenced by the location of phoneme boundaries in both the native and target languages. Nonnative speaker production shows a greater amount of similarity to native speaker production, although, where deviations occur, nonnative speakers tend to overcompensate for differences between the native and target languages. Finally, methodological issues are raised relating to the comparison of perception and production.

Ultimate attainment in late second language acquisition: Phonetic and grammatical challenges in advanced Dutch–English bilingualism

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika S. Schmid ◽  
Steven Gilbers ◽  
Amber Nota
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Reference Population ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Verb Phrase Ellipsis ◽  
Verb Phrase ◽  
Ultimate Attainment

The present article provides an exploration of ultimate attainment in second language (L2) and its limitations. It is argued that the question of maturational constraints can best be investigated when the reference population is bilingual and exposed on a regular basis to varieties of their first language (L1) that show cross-linguistic influence. To this end, 20 advanced Dutch–English bilinguals are compared to 9 English native speakers immersed in a Dutch environment. All participants are teachers or students of English at a Dutch institution of higher education. The populations are shown to be at similar global proficiency levels. Two phonetic variables (voice onset time or VOT and vowel discrimination) and one grammatical variable (verb phrase ellipsis), which are assumed to present particular challenges to Dutch learners of English, are explored, and speakers are furthermore rated for their global nativeness. The findings show no differences between populations on VOT but some variance on the production of a vowel that has no correlate in Dutch (the English trap vowel). However, all but one of the L2ers are rated outside the range of the natives on perceived foreign accent. There are also differences between groups where acceptance of different sentence types with verb phrase ellipsis are concerned. We interpret these findings to indicate that there are areas of L2 knowledge and production that are persistently difficult to acquire even under circumstances that are highly favourable for L2 acquisition.

L2 Acquisition of Spanish VOT by English-Speaking Immigrants in Spain

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy L. Face ◽  
Mandy R. Menke
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Phonology ◽  
Long Time ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Considerable Individual Variation

AbstractPrevious studies of native English speakers learning Spanish as a second language (L2) document compromise voice onset time (VOT) values; however, the focus has been predominantly on voiceless stops and has almost exclusively investigated beginning and intermediate learners. This study fills a gap in the literature by considering the acquisition of VOT in both voiceless and voiced Spanish stops by long-time native English-speaking residents of Spain. Overall, the results show that the L2 speakers’ VOT values differ from those of native speakers across all stop consonants; yet L2 speakers’ productions of voiceless, as opposed to voiced, stops more closely approximate those of native speakers. Considerable individual variation is observed as no speaker achieves native-like performance overall, and no consonant is mastered by more than half of the speakers. Results are considered in light of what they contribute to our understanding of ultimate attainment of Spanish VOT, specifically, and L2 phonology more generally.

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