Comparison of VOTs in Mandarin–English bilingual children and corresponding monolingual children and adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-26
Author(s):  
Jing Yang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Language Difference ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Phonetic Realization ◽  
Time Continuum

Word-initial stops in Mandarin and English show a distinctive phonological categorization but a similar phonetic realization along the VOT (Voice Onset Time) continuum. Previous research reported that native Mandarin adults produce measurably longer long-lag VOTs than native English adults. The present study examined whether and how the difference between Mandarin and English VOTs is manifested in monolingual children and Mandarin–English bilingual children. The participants included 15 five- to six-year-old sequential bilingual children, 24 corresponding monolingual children (15 Mandarin, 9 English), and 22 monolingual adults (12 Mandarin, 10 English). The bilingual children were divided into two groups (Bi-low and Bi-high) based on the amount of experience in English. Each participant was recorded producing 18 Mandarin words and/or 18 English words containing six stops in each language. The VOT values were measured from the beginning of stop burst to the onset of the voicing. The results showed that the language difference in VOT in the monolingual children was manifested in a pattern similar to the monolingual adults. However, Mandarin and English VOTs showed less separable distributions in the two groups of bilingual children. Further analysis suggested that both groups of bilingual children tended to separate Mandarin and English short-lag VOTs but only the Bi-low children showed different long-lag VOTs between the two languages. These results suggested that due to the bilingual effects and L1–L2 (first language – second language) interactions, even though the bilingual children tried to separate the two VOT systems, they implemented the separation in a different manner than the monolingual speakers.

scholarly journals Longitudinal Developments in Bilingual Second Language Acquisition and First Language Attrition of Speech: The Case of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Lisa Kornder ◽  
Ineke Mennen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Speech Development ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
First Language Attrition ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
L1 And L2

The purpose of this investigation was to trace first (L1) and second language (L2) segmental speech development in the Austrian German–English late bilingual Arnold Schwarzenegger over a period of 40 years, which makes it the first study to examine a bilingual’s speech development over several decades in both their languages. To this end, acoustic measurements of voice onset time (VOT) durations of word-initial plosives (Study 1) and formant frequencies of the first and second formant of Austrian German and English monophthongs (Study 2) were conducted using speech samples collected from broadcast interviews. The results of Study 1 showed a merging of Schwarzenegger’s German and English voiceless plosives in his late productions as manifested in a significant lengthening of VOT duration in his German plosives, and a shortening of VOT duration in his English plosives, closer to L1 production norms. Similar findings were evidenced in Study 2, revealing that some of Schwarzenegger’s L1 and L2 vowel categories had moved closer together in the course of L2 immersion. These findings suggest that both a bilingual’s first and second language accent is likely to develop and reorganize over time due to dynamic interactions between the first and second language system.

Stop consonant productions of Korean–English bilingual children

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUE ANN S. LEE ◽  
GREGORY K. IVERSON
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Stop Consonant ◽  
Developmental Period ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Stop Consonants ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
English Bilingual

The purpose of this study was to conduct an acoustic examination of the obstruent stops produced by Korean–English bilingual children in connection with the question of whether bilinguals establish distinct categories of speech sounds across languages. Stop productions were obtained from ninety children in two age ranges, five and ten years: thirty Korean–English bilinguals, thirty monolingual Koreans and thirty monolingual English speakers. Voice-Onset-Time (VOT) lag at word-initial stop and fundamental frequency (f0) in the following vowel (hereafter vowel-onset f0) were measured. The bilingual children showed different patterns of VOT in comparison to both English and Korean monolinguals, with longer VOT in their production of Korean stop consonants and shorter VOT for English. Moreover, the ten-year-old bilinguals distinguished all stop categories using both VOT and vowel-onset f0,whereas the five-year-olds tended to make stop distinctions based on VOT but not vowel-onset f0. The results of this study suggest that bilingual children at around five years of age do not yet have fully separate stop systems, and that the systems continue to evolve during the developmental period.

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.

Constructing two phonological systems: A phonetic analysis of /p/, /t/, /k/ among early Spanish–English bilingual speakers

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-68
Author(s):  
Earl K. Brown ◽  
Mary T. Copple
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Center Of Gravity ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
The Usa

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: Many early Spanish-English bilingual speakers in the USA learn Spanish as their first language at home and English in school. This paper seeks to elucidate whether these speakers develop a separate phonological system for English and, if so, the role of primary and secondary cues in the development of the second language (L2) system. Design/methodology/approach: The phonetic realization of the voiceless stops /p/, /t/, /k/ is analyzed among three groups: early Spanish-English bilinguals; L1 English speakers who are late learners of Spanish; and L1 Spanish speakers who are late learners of English. The participants ( N = 15) engaged in a reading task and a conversation task in each language during a single recording session. Data and analysis: 1578 tokens of /p/, /t/, /k/ were extracted and analyzed using acoustic software. Voice onset time in milliseconds and center of gravity in Hertz were analyzed, and monofactorial and multifactorial analyses were performed to determine the role of linguistic background. Findings/conclusions: Evidence is found of two phonological systems among early bilingual speakers, with varying degrees of assimilation to the phonological systems of the native speakers of each language. Originality: We argue that early bilinguals construct their L2 system of /p/, /t/, /k/ in English based on the primary cue of voice onset time rather than the secondary cue of center of gravity, as they are accustomed to noticing differences in voice onset time in Spanish and because the center of gravity of /p/, /t/, /k/ in English is more variable than voice onset time, and therefore represents a more variable and less predictable cue for early bilinguals as they construct their L2 system. Significance/implications: This paper contributes to the literature on the construction of phonological systems and to research detailing the speech of early Spanish-English bilinguals.

Voice onset time in bilingual German-Spanish children

2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARGARET M. KEHOE ◽  
CONXITA LLEÓ ◽  
MARTIN RAKOW
Keyword(s):  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Voicing Contrast ◽  
Period 2 ◽  
German Children ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Phonetic Realization ◽  
Language Influence

This study examines the acquisition of the voicing contrast in German-Spanish bilingual children, on the basis of the acoustic measurement of Voice Onset Time (VOT). VOT in four bilingual children (aged 2;0–3;0) was measured and compared to VOT in three monolingual German children (aged 1;9–2;6), and to previous literature findings in Spanish. All measurements were based on word-initial stops extracted from naturalistic speech recordings. Results revealed that the bilingual children displayed three different patterns of VOT development: 1. Delay in the phonetic realization of voicing: two bilingual children did not acquire long lag stops in German during the testing period; 2. Transfer of voicing features: one child produced German voiced stops with lead voicing and Spanish voiceless stops with long lag voicing; and 3. No cross-language influence in the phonetic realization of voicing. The relevance of the findings for cross-linguistic interaction in bilingual phonetic/phonological development is discussed.

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.

scholarly journals Categorical Perception of VOT in Multilingual Children in Singapore – A preregistered investigation of the CROWN Game

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Ke ◽  
Lei Pan ◽  
Beth Ann O'Brien ◽  
Suzy J Styles
Keyword(s):  
Screening Tool ◽  
Categorical Perception ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Reading Difficulties ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
Phoneme Perception ◽  
Time Continuum

Phoneme perception is critically involved in alphabetic reading, however current findings may not hold for bilinguals. In the CROWN Game, children hear tokens of familiar words across a voice-onset time continuum (-60ms to 90ms). We measured individual VOT threshold and the slope of the transition between categories in 138 English/Chinese speaking bilinguals in Singapore kindergartens. The task showed a wide spread of scores and good split-half reliability. In a preregistered analysis, we examined whether bilingual balance or order of acquisition influenced categorical perception of English phonemes /b/ and /p/. GLMMs revealed categorical perception was independent from language exposure. This suggests the CROWN Game is valid for use with bilingual children, including as a possible screening tool for future reading difficulties.

The effects of explicit pronunciation instruction on the production of second language Spanish voiceless stops

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Camus
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
L2 Spanish ◽  
Teaching Pronunciation

The present study examines the effectiveness of second language explicit pronunciation instruction of adult second language (L2) learners of Spanish in a classroom setting. This study seeks to shed light on the effectiveness of teaching pronunciation while considering the level of instruction of first, second and third year students. Eighty-three learners of Spanish as an L2 were recruited to participate in a control (n = 45) or experimental (n = 38) group. From the beginning to the end of a twelve-week semester, participants in the experimental condition received instruction on typically difficult segments in L2-Spanish for first language (L1) English speakers. Pronunciation gains were measured acoustically by a word-reading task and the target structures were Spanish voiceless stops /p, t, k/. Results suggest that pronunciation instruction is beneficial to all voiceless stops. After a semester of instruction, the experimental group reduced their voice onset time (VOT) and reached native speakers' range, while no difference was observed in the control group. Additionally, instruction was beneficial at each curricular level, suggesting that pronunciation instruction should be part of the L2-Spanish curricular sequence at multiple levels. Results are discussed in terms of the theoretical, methodological and pedagogical implications of these findings and special emphasis is placed on the advantages of pronunciation instruction. A call is made for more teachers and practitioners to include pronunciation instruction in the L2-Spanish classroom.

Narrative competence of Italian–English bilingual children between 5 and 7 years

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAJA ROCH ◽  
ELENA FLORIT ◽  
CHIARA LEVORATO
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Story Retelling ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Mental State Terms

ABSTRACTThe study explored narrative production and comprehension in typically developing Italian–English sequential bilinguals. Thirty 5- to 6-year-olds and 32 6- to 7-year-olds were presented with story telling and retelling tasks, each followed by comprehension questions in Italian (their first language) and English (their second language). The macrostructure of narratives produced was analyzed, considering total amount of relevant information, story complexity, and mental state terms. Comprehension questions focused on implicit story information (i.e., characters’ mental states and goals). The results indicated that (a) older children outperformed younger ones on all measures; (b) an advantage of first language (Italian) over second language (English) emerged for younger children; and (c) comprehension and production were both more accurate in story retelling than in telling. Theoretical and methodological implications of these results are discussed.

A Study on Students' Problems in ESL Writing Classes in the Arts College/ Kuwait University

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Mona Salem Rashed
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Word Choice ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Esl Writing ◽  
Kuwait University ◽  
Writing Classes ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Difference ◽  
At Home

This paper discusses the influence of the first language (Arabic) on the second language (English) in the writing pieces of ESL students in Arts College/ Kuwait University. Going over some writing papers taken from the students' work in class, the reader would notice a 'different English'. The overall layout of the paper, the ideas presentation, the personal expression, the syntax and word choice, the punctuation and other elements make this new language on students' papers. From papers written in class and at home, I conducted an analysis to see the difference between the two languages techniques, and to find solutions for that. I also interviewed students and they assured that Arabic has a massive influence on them. They disclosed that they read the topic in English, and think/analyze in Arabic. Some participants mentioned that their limited competence of vocabulary in English hindered them from expressing well on paper. Another group mentioned that the idea of 'being explanatory' prevailed their thinking while writing. They said that they wanted to explain their ideas well and repeatedly so that the reader/teacher would understand their points. They also had troubles in organizing the sentences according to the English paragraph style.

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