scholarly journals Gesture-speech coupling in L2 lexical stress production: A pre-registration of a speech acoustic and gesture kinematic study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Rutger Bosker ◽  
Marieke Hoetjes ◽  
Wim Pouw ◽  
Lieke van Maastricht
Keyword(s):  
Motion Tracking ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Constraints ◽  
Acoustic Correlates ◽  
Multimodal Systems ◽  
Kinematic Study ◽  
Speech Interaction ◽  
Time Series Analyses ◽  
Acoustic Analyses

The prosody of a second language (L2) is notoriously difficult to acquire. It requires the mastery of a range of nested multimodal systems, including articulatory but also gestural signals, as hand gestures are produced in close synchrony with spoken prosody. It remains unclear how easily the articulatory and gestural systems acquire new prosodic patterns in the L2 and how the two systems interact, especially when L1 patterns interfere. This interdisciplinary pre-registered study investigates how Dutch learners of Spanish produce multimodal lexical stress in Spanish-Dutch cognates (e.g., Spanish profeSOR vs. Dutch proFESsor). Acoustic analyses assess whether gesturing helps L2 speakers to place stress on the correct syllable; and whether gesturing boosts the acoustic correlates of stress through biomechanic coupling. Moreover, motion-tracking and time-series analyses test whether gesture-prosody synchrony is enhanced for stress-matching vs. stress-mismatching cognate pairs, perhaps revealing that gestural timing is biased in the L1 (or L2) direction (e.g., Spanish profeSOR with the gesture biased towards Dutch stressed syllable -fes). Thus, we will uncover how speakers deal with manual, articulatory, and cognitive constraints that need to be brought in harmony for efficient speech production, bearing implications for theories on gesture-speech interaction and multimodal L2 acquisition.

THE IMPACT OF RECASTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY STRESS IN A SYNCHRONOUS COMPUTER-MEDIATED ENVIRONMENT

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Özgür Parlak ◽  
Nicole Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Information Exchange ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Primary Stress ◽  
Acoustic Correlates ◽  
Sentence Reading ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
The Impact

Although previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of recasts on second language (L2) morphology and lexis (e.g., Li, 2010; Mackey & Goo, 2007), few studies have examined their effect on learners’ phonological development (although see Saito, 2015; Saito & Lyster, 2012). The current study investigates the impact of recasts on the development of lexical stress, defined as the placement of emphasis on a particular syllable within a word by making it louder and longer, in oral synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) and face-to-face (FTF) interaction. Using a pretest-posttest design, intermediate learners of English were randomly assigned to one of four groups: FTF recast, SCMC recast, FTF control, or SCMC control. Pre- and posttests consisted of sentence-reading and information-exchange tasks, while the treatment was an interactive role-play task. Syllable duration, intensity, and pitch were used to analyze learners’ development of stress placement. The statistical analyses of the acoustic correlates did not yield significant differences. However, the observed patterns suggest that there is need for further investigation to understand the relationship between recasts and development of lexical stress.

scholarly journals L2 acquisition of high vowel deletion in Quebec French

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Duarte Garcia ◽  
Heather Goad ◽  
Natália Brambatti Guzzo
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Phonological Word ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Quebec French ◽  
Vowel Deletion ◽  
The Right ◽  
Phonological Phrase

In languages with lexical stress, stress is computed in the phonological word (PWd) and realized in the foot. In some of these languages, feet are constructed iteratively, yielding multiple stressed syllables in a PWd. English has this profile. In French, by contrast, the only position of obligatory prominence is the right-edge of the phonological phrase (PPh), regardless of how many lexical words it contains (Dell 1984). This has led some to analyze French "stress" as intonational prominence and French, in contrast to most languages, as foot-less (Jun & Fougeron 2000). In earlier work, we argued that high vowel deletion (HVD) motivates iterative iambic footing in Quebec French (QF), although the typical signatures of word-level stress are absent. In this paper, we examine the L2 acquisition of HVD and the prosodic constraints that govern it. We show that L2ers can acquire subtle aspects of the phonology of a second language, even at intermediate levels of proficiency.

scholarly journals The acquisition of English stress by Québec Francophones

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Duarte Garcia ◽  
Natália Brambatti Guzzo
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Control Data ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Canadian French ◽  
Acoustic Correlates ◽  
Ultimate Attainment

In this chapter, we report the results of two production experiments, one in Canadian French (CF) and one in English, aimed at examining how advanced CF L2ers produce English stress. In other words, our focus is not on language development (i.e. whether learners actually acquire stress in English), but rather on ultimate attainment in L2 acquisition (i.e. how native speakers and advanced learners compare vis-à-vis stress production). In order to evaluate whether L2ers’ rhythmic patterns mirror native English patterns, we compare L2ers’ production with control data, focusing on three possi- ble acoustic correlates of prominence: duration, pitch (F0) and intensity. To verify whether L2ers transfer acoustic cues or rhythmic patterns from their first language (L1) into the L2, we also analyse how prominence is produced by L2ers in their L1.

The role of vowel parameters in defining lexical and subsidiary stress in Ukrainian

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beata Łukaszewicz ◽  
Janina Mołczanow
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
Stress System ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Secondary Stress ◽  
Primary Stress ◽  
The Third ◽  
Acoustic Correlates ◽  
Initial Syllable

Abstract Recent work suggests that Ukrainian represents a typologically rare bidirectional stress system with internal lapses, i.e. sequences of unstressed syllables in the vicinity of primary stress (Łukaszewicz and Mołczanow 2018a, b). The system is more intricate than the hitherto known bidirectional systems (e.g. Polish), and thus interesting from the theoretical perspective, as it involves interaction between free lexical stress and secondary stresses. Lexical and subsidiary prominence in Ukrainian have been shown to be expressed acoustically in terms of increased duration of the whole syllable. This leaves open the question of the role of classic vowel parameters in shaping prominence effects in this language. The present study fills this gap by investigating vowel duration, intensity, and F0 as potential acoustic correlates of primary and secondary stress in Ukrainian. It focuses on words with primary stress on the fifth syllable. Such words are predicted to have secondary stress on the first and third syllables. The results point to statistically significant lengthening of vowels carrying lexical stress as well as of those in the initial syllable, but not in the third syllable. A possible explanation is that other parameters, e.g. consonant duration, may be crucial in the case of word-internal subsidiary stress in Ukrainian.

scholarly journals Individual phonological attrition in Albanian–English late bilinguals

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
ESTHER DE LEEUW ◽  
AURELA TUSHA ◽  
MONIKA S. SCHMID
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Learning Model ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
British English ◽  
Speech Learning Model ◽  
Native Speech ◽  
Acoustic Analyses ◽  
Speech Learning

The purpose of this study was to investigate phonological attrition in 10 native Albanian speakers who acquired Standard Southern British English (SSBE) as a second language (L2) in London, United Kingdom. A contrast was examined which is phonemic in Albanian but allophonic in SSBE, namely the production of light and dark lateral approximants. Impressionistic and acoustic analyses revealed that one late bilingual completely neutralized the phonemic contrast in her native Albanian speech. Furthermore, two other bilinguals neutralized the phonemic contrast between light /l/ and dark /ɫ/ in coda position, and overall there appeared to be a stronger trend for light /l/ to become dark in coda position than for dark /ɫ/ to become light in onset position. The findings are discussed in relation to the Speech Learning Model (Flege, 1995) and indicate that phonological attrition in native speech production is possible in late L2 acquisition, although not inevitable.

REGULATORY FIT EFFECTS ON THE ACQUISITION OF LEXICAL STRESS

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Minyoung Cho
Keyword(s):  
Reward System ◽  
Regulatory Fit ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
Regulatory State ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Regulatory Fit Theory ◽  
Loss Frame ◽  
Gain Frame

Abstract Higgins’s (2000) regulatory fit theory proposes that a fit between one’s regulatory state and strategic means for reaching a goal increases motivational strength and engagement. This study investigates how regulatory fit affects the L2 acquisition of lexical stress in an authentic learning context. Ninety EFL students were assigned to either gain frame or loss frame conditions. They engaged in speech practice in which they mimicked a model speech in English to win a chance to enter a prize raffle. The reward system was framed differently in the two framing conditions, with the intention of eliciting the participants’ use of eager or vigilant strategies, thus creating fit and nonfit conditions. Acquisition of lexical stress was assessed using pre- and posttest scores. Multiple regression analysis showed no regulatory fit effects and no loss frame effects but did show a significant beneficial effect of the gain frame on the acquisition of lexical stress.

scholarly journals Typological variation in the phonetic realization of lexical and phrasal stress: Southern British English vs. Tunisian Arabic

Loquens ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Bouchhioua
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Stress ◽  
Vowel Quality ◽  
British English ◽  
World Languages ◽  
Acoustic Correlates ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Spectral Balance ◽  
Typological Variation ◽  
Phonetic Realization ◽  
Tunisian Arabic

Results of phonetic experiments on the acoustic correlates of lexical stress (word-level prominence) and phrasal stress (phrase-level prominence = accent) as two separate concepts in two typologically different languages, Southern British English (SBE) and Tunisian Arabic (TA), are reported in this study. Because of the confusion in the literature between the terms stress and accent, their acoustic correlates were muddled, too. To avoid this confusion, the data in this study are elicited using an experimental paradigm which allows careful investigation of the correlates of each concept independently. The duration, spectral balance, and vowel quality cues are measured. Results show cross-linguistic similarities and differences between the two languages. Unlike most world languages, duration in TA is not a correlate of stress. It is rather a correlate of accent. In the absence of focus on the target words in TA, the only phonetic characteristics of lexical stress that come in the foreground are spectral balance and F1 lowering. However, when the word is focused, Tunisian speakers rely mainly on duration and spectral balance to signal accent. SBE signals stress through three acoustic correlates which are duration, spectral balance, and vowel quality. More similarity is found for accent detection between speakers of the two languages.

scholarly journals O USO DE REDES NEURAIS AUTO- ORGANIZÁVEIS NA VISUALIZAÇÃO DE FORMAÇÃO DE AGRUPAMENTOS A PARTIR DO CONHECIMENTO ACENTUAL DE APRENDIZES BRASILEIROS DE INGLÊS

Organon ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (51) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Cunha
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Speech Signal ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Predictive Coding ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
Self Organizing Map ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Linear Predictive Coding ◽  
Classi Cation ◽  
Basic Hypothesis

! is study aimed at investigating how Brazilian learners ofEnglish organize their knowledge about lexical stress of a speci" c wordcategory at an early stage of L2 acquisition with the help of an unsuper-vised neural network, a self-organizing map (SOM), also called Kohonennetwork. ! e basic hypothesis tested was whether the parameterization ofthe speech signal from learner’s utterances through processing techniquessuch as Linear Predictive Coding (LPC), which consisted of the input ofthe network, would be e# ective in the classi" cation of learners and theirutterances. ! e study consisted of an empirical part and a computationalone. ! e participants were beginner students aged between 18 and 25.Preliminary results indicate that the combination of LPC+SOM allowedthe creation of well-de" ned category clusters, which is an important stepin data classi" cation to aid language pro" ciency level determination, andcomputer-assisted pronunciation teaching.

scholarly journals The Impact Of Lexical Stress Type and Position of a Vowel Within a Phrase on Vowel Formant Bandwidths

2020 ◽  
pp. 5-15
Author(s):  
Sergey Batalin
Keyword(s):  
Target Word ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Acoustic Correlates ◽  
Word Position ◽  
Vowel Formant ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

The article sets out to explore the impact of different types of lexical stress and word position within a phrase as well as the interaction of these factors on formant bandwidths. The findings contribute to establishing the role of these formant features as acoustic correlates of the Russian lexical stress. The experimental material for analysis is presented by the Russian sound [a] embedded in a word in a natural language carrier phrase. The word position is changed from phrase initial to the phrase final one and in each position the target word is uttered with a neutral and an emphatic stress by four speakers. The Praat software is used to extract the mean values of the first four formant bandwidths of the target vowel. Two-way ANOVA is carried out to establish the significance of difference between neutrally and emphatically stressed vowels in all the three phrasal positions. The impact of phrasal position and stress type is clearly pronounced and is valid for all the four speakers. Specific trends in bandwidth alterations are hard to identify in most cases because of inconsistent fluctuations of formant bandwidths and a heavy influence of the speakers' idiolects: formant bandwidths expand, contract or remain unchanged. An explanation of the results obtained is suggested.

scholarly journals Acoustic correlates of lexical stress in Moroccan Arabic

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Anna Bruggeman ◽  
Nabila Louriz ◽  
Rana Almbark ◽  
Sam Hellmuth
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Stress ◽  
Stress System ◽  
Vowel Quality ◽  
Acoustic Parameters ◽  
Syllable Weight ◽  
Centre Of Gravity ◽  
Acoustic Correlates ◽  
Moroccan Arabic ◽  
Target Words

Presently there is no consensus regarding the interpretation and analysis of the stress system of Moroccan Arabic. This paper tests whether the acoustic realisation of syllables support one widely adopted interpretation of lexical stress, according to which stress is either penultimate or final depending on syllable weight. The experiment reports on word-initial syllables that differ in presumed stress status. Target words were embedded in a carrier sentence within a scripted mock dialogue to ensure that the measurements reflect lexical stress rather than phrase-level prominence. Results from all four acoustic parameters tested (f0, duration, Centre of Gravity and vowel quality) showed that there were no differences as a function of presumed stress status, thus failing to support an interpretation according to which stressed syllables are acoustically differentiated. We consider the results in relation to previous claims and observations, and conclude that the absence of acoustic correlates of presumed stress is compatible with the view that Moroccan Arabic lacks lexical stress.

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