scholarly journals The Contributions of Crosslinguistic Influence and Individual Differences to Nonnative Speech Perception

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Charles B. Chang ◽  
Sungmi Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Posttest Performance ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Nonnative Language ◽  
Stages Of Learning ◽  
Learner Differences ◽  
L2 Perception ◽  
Crosslinguistic Influence ◽  
Nonnative Speech Perception

Perception of a nonnative language (L2) is known to be affected by crosslinguistic transfer from a listener’s native language (L1), but the relative importance of L1 transfer vis-a-vis individual learner differences remains unclear. This study explored the hypothesis that the nature of L1 transfer changes as learners gain experience with the L2, such that individual differences are more influential at earlier stages of learning and L1 transfer is more influential at later stages of learning. To test this hypothesis, novice L2 learners of Korean from diverse L1 backgrounds were examined in a pretest-posttest design with respect to their perceptual acquisition of novel L2 consonant contrasts (the three-way Korean laryngeal contrast among lenis, fortis, and aspirated plosives) and vowel contrasts (/o/-/ʌ/, /u/-/ɨ/). Whereas pretest performance showed little evidence of L1 effects, posttest performance showed significant L1 transfer. Furthermore, pretest performance did not predict posttest performance. These findings support the view that L1 knowledge influences L2 perception dynamically, according to the amount of L2 knowledge available to learners at that time. That is, both individual differences and L1 knowledge play a role in L2 perception, but to different degrees over the course of L2 development.

Children’s and adults’ initial phonological acquisition of a foreign language

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-401
Author(s):  
Romana Kopečková ◽  
Christine Dimroth ◽  
Ulrike Gut
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Phoneme Discrimination ◽  
Sentence Imitation ◽  
German Children ◽  
L2 Perception

Abstract This study compared children’s and adults’ L2 perception and production in the first hours of exposure to a foreign language. A total of 10 German children and 19 German adults performed a phoneme discrimination task and a sentence imitation task in Polish at two testing times. Exposed to a comparable input, the adult learners were found to perceive Polish sibilant contrasts more accurately than their child counterparts and to maintain this advantage over a two-week-long instruction. However, the two groups did not differ in their developing ability to produce the tested sibilants. A great deal of inter- and intra-individual differences in both learner groups was also attested. Our findings suggest that young L2 instructed learners are not necessarily better and/or faster perceivers and producers of novel language sounds than adult L2 instructed learners, who are able to discriminate a range of novel sibilant pairs even after very limited L2 exposure.

scholarly journals perception and comprehension of L2 English sentence types

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-98
Author(s):  
Matthew Patience ◽  
Laura Colantoni ◽  
Gabrielle Klassen ◽  
Malina Radu ◽  
Olga Tararova
Keyword(s):  
Pitch Accent ◽  
Linguistic Information ◽  
English Sentence ◽  
Mandarin Speakers ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Restricted Use ◽  
L2 Perception ◽  
Crosslinguistic Influence ◽  
Echo Questions

L2 prosody is particularly difficult to acquire, because it requires an understanding of intonation, syntax, and pragmatics. For example, to acquire English sentence types, speakers must learn that statements (Ss) and absolute yes/no questions (AQs) are syntactically and prosodically marked, whereas the difference between Ss and declarative questions (DQs) is purely prosodic. Moreover, DQs can only occur in restricted contexts, such as to express surprise. In this paper, we examine the L2 perception and comprehension of English sentence types, by speakers of three typologically distinct L1s (Spanish, Mandarin, Inuktitut), with the goal of investigating the role of crosslinguistic influence (CLI). Spanish uses only intonation (a higher initial pitch accent and final rising boundary tone) to distinguish Ss from AQs and DQs, whereas in Mandarin, questions (AQs and DQs) can be syntactically identical to statements or marked by the lexical particle –ma. Mandarin also has a prosodic distinction between broad focus and echo questions (which are similar to English AQs and DQs). In contrast, Inuktitut has a very restricted use of pitch, and primarily marks questions morphologically. Learners of each L1 and English controls performed three tasks that varied in the amount of contextual and linguistic information available. Our results revealed evidence of both positive and negative CLI.  Inuktitut and Mandarin speakers demonstrated some tendencies to focus more on syntax than intonation. Moreover, the Mandarin speakers were the most successful at acquiring the pragmatic distinction between AQs and DQs, which we argue is due to a similar contrast in Mandarin.

L2 ENGLISH INTONATION

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Ortega-Llebaria ◽  
Laura Colantoni
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Transfer Effects ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
L2 Perception ◽  
Different Levels

Although there is consistent evidence that higher levels of processing, such as learning the form-meaning associations specific to the second language (L2), are a source of difficulty in acquiring L2 speech, no study has addressed how these levels interact in shaping L2 perception and production of intonation. We examine the hypothesis of whether access to contextual meaning increases the chances of first language (L1) influence on L2 intonation. To test this hypothesis, we compared the perception and production of sentential English focus by 27 advanced English language learners (n= 13 L1 Mandarin speakers;n= 14 L1 Spanish speakers) and 13 controls, through a series of tasks that promoted different levels of access to meaning. Results showed that L1 transfer was especially clear in Spanish speakers. Not only did they consistently differ from controls in their perception of focalized verbs and subjects, showing their L1 bias to perceive focus at the end of a sentence, but they were also the only group of speakers that inserted pauses after the focalized word, which showed strong L1 effects. Moreover, these L1 transfer effects were more obvious in contextualized tasks, which indicated that facilitating access to meaning by adding context increased L1 transfer effects on the perception and especially on the production of focus intonation.

scholarly journals Additive Linking in L2 French Discourse by German Learners: Syntactic Embedding and Intonation Patterns

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Benazzo Sandra ◽  
Dimroth Christine ◽  
Fabian Santiago
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Video Clip ◽  
Oral Narrative ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Additive Particles ◽  
Cohesive Devices ◽  
Intermediate Learners ◽  
Crosslinguistic Influence

This study deals with the expression of additive linking in L2 French by adult German learners with two proficiency levels (advanced vs. intermediate). We examine whether crosslinguistic influences are observed in three domains: the frequency and type of additive expressions in discourse, the syntactic integration of additive particles in the utterance and the prosodic contour associated with them. A total of 70 participants (20 French native speakers, 20 German native speakers and 30 German learners of L2 French) performed an oral narrative task elicited via a video clip presenting abundant additive contexts. Our results show that advanced German learners did not experience an L1 transfer in any of the domains analyzed, but instead they show a learner-specific tendency to overmark the contrastive status of the relevant entities in discourse. Yet traces of crosslinguistic influence are visible in intermediate learners’ choice and frequency of additive means, as well as the preferred position of the particles. All learners seem to have quickly discarded the possibility to mark scope by prosody, in contrast to what they do in their L1. We discuss these findings in the light of the L2 acquisition of cohesive devices in discourse and their interactions with different linguistic levels.

scholarly journals Sound change in spontaneous bilingual speech: A corpus study on the Cantonese n-l merger in Cantonese-English bilinguals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Soo ◽  
Khia A. Johnson ◽  
Molly Babel
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Sound Change ◽  
Corpus Study ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
The Status ◽  
Crosslinguistic Influence ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
L Word ◽  
Spectral Tilt

In Cantonese and several other Chinese languages, /n/ is merging with /l/. The Cantonese merger appears categorical, with /n/ becoming /l/ word-initially. This project aims to describe the status of /n/ and /l/ in bilingual Cantonese and English speech to better understand individual differences at the interface of crosslinguistic influence and sound change. We examine bilingual speech using the SpiCE corpus, composed of speech from 34 early Cantonese-English bilinguals. Acoustic measures were collected on pre-vocalic nasal and lateral onsets in both languages. If bilinguals maintain separate representations for corresponding segments across languages, smaller differences between /n/ and /l/ are predicted in Cantonese compared to English. Measures of mid-frequency spectral tilt suggest that the /n/ and /l/ contrast is robustly maintained in English, but not Cantonese. The spacing of F2-F1 suggests small differences between Cantonese /n/ and /l/, and robust differences in English. While cross-language categories appear independent, substantial individual differences exist in the data. These data contribute to the understanding of the /n/ and /l/ merger in Cantonese and other Chinese languages, in addition to providing empirical and theoretical insights into crosslinguistic influence in early bilinguals.

scholarly journals Syntactic development in early foreign language learning: Effects of L1 transfer, input, and individual factors

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (05) ◽  
pp. 1241-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Hopp ◽  
Anja Steinlen ◽  
Christina Schelletter ◽  
Thorsten Piske
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Individual Factors ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Syntactic Development ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis study explores parallels and differences in the comprehension of wh-questions and relative clauses between early foreign-language (FL) learners and monolingual children. We test for (a) effects of syntactic first-language (L1) transfer, (b) the impact of input on syntactic development, and (c) the impact of individual differences on early FL syntactic development. We compare the results to findings in child second language (L2) naturalistic acquisition and adult FL acquisition. Following work on adult FL acquisition, we carried out a picture-based interpretation task with 243 child FL learners in fourth grade at different regular, partial, and high-immersion schools in Germany plus 68 monolingual English children aged 5 to 8 years as controls. The child FL learners display a strong subject-first preference but do not appear to use the L1 syntax in comprehension. Input differences across different schools affect overall accuracy, with students at high-immersion FL schools catching up to monolingual performance within 4 years of learning. Finally, phonological awareness is implicated in both early FL learning and naturalistic child L2 development. These findings suggest that early FL development resembles child L2 acquisition in speed and effects of individual factors, yet is different from adult FL acquisition due to the absence of L1 transfer effects.

scholarly journals Quantifying individual differences in native and nonnative sentence processing

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Ian Cunnings ◽  
Hiroki Fujita
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Garden Path ◽  
Preliminary Examination ◽  
Reading Experiment ◽  
Nonnative Language ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Research in sentence processing has increasingly examined the role of individual differences in language comprehension. In work on native and nonnative sentence processing, examining individual differences can contribute crucial insight into theoretical debates about the extent to which nativelike processing is possible in a nonnative language. Despite this increased interest in individual differences, whether commonly used psycholinguistic tasks can reliably measure individual differences between participants has not been systematically examined. As a preliminary examination of this issue in nonnative processing, we report a self-paced reading experiment on garden-path sentences in native and nonnative comprehension. At the group level we replicated previously observed findings in native and nonnative speakers. However, while we found that our self-paced reading experiment was a reliable way of assessing individual differences in overall reading speed and comprehension accuracy, it did not consistently measure individual differences in the size of garden-path effects in our sample (N = 64 native and 64 nonnative participants, and 24 experimental items). These results suggest that before individual differences in sentence processing can be meaningfully assessed, the question of whether commonly used tasks can consistently measure individual differences requires systematic examination.

The acquisition of non-null subjects in English: a minimalist account

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigenori Wakabayashi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Null Subjects ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Lexical Items

Second language acquisition (SLA) research in the last 20 years appears to have shown that Universal Grammar (UG) constrains SLA, and a number of specific models of SLA have been offered. However, some crucial problems have been left unsolved in previous models suggested by the Principles and Parameters Approach; the Minimalist Program is likely to provide a better account of the data. The acquisition of the obligatoriness of overt subjects in English is one such problem. The Minimalist approach suggests that first language (L1) transfer is realized as the transfer of lexical items and their features.This further implies that some cross-linguistic effects do not exist at the initial stage of development, but may emerge gradually in the course of second language (L2) development in accordance with the expansion of L2 lexicon and the number of lexical items to be placed in the sentence structure. With these considerations, the Minimalist Program provides us with a new framework for explaining data concerning the L2 acquisition of non-null subjects in English, especially the developmental changes of interlanguage grammar and L1 influences on it.

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