scholarly journals Phrasing and nuclear configurations in authentic English-accented Spanish

Loquens ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 050
Author(s):  
Eva Estebas-Vilaplana ◽  
Beatriz Blecua
Keyword(s):  
Spanish Text ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
The Other ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Tonal Structure ◽  
Auditory Analysis

This paper examines the differences in the division of intonation phrases and in the tonal structure of the nuclear configuration (i.e., the last pitch accent and the following boundary tone) in imitated and in authentic English-accented Spanish. The same Spanish text was read by four native speakers of American English, who produced the text with a real English foreign accent in Spanish, and six native speakers of Spanish, who read the text twice: in L1 Spanish and in fake English-accented Spanish. An auditory analysis of the data was carried out along with an inspection of the f0 traces aligned with the spectrographic representation and the segmental string. The results showed that the Spanish speakers produce more intonation breaks when they imitate an English accent in Spanish than when they speak L1 Spanish. Furthermore, they adopt the typical tonal structure of Spanish final accents in their fake English-accented productions. The number of prosodic breaks in real and in imitated English-accented Spanish is similar. The nuclear configurations, on the other hand, present more variability and differ in the frequency of occurrence of some patterns. The high occurrence of the fall-rise pattern (L+H* LH%) and the presence of the high-fall contour (L+H* L%) in the English productions may help discriminate an authentic English-accented Spanish from a fake one.

The relative contribution of segments and intonation to the perception of foreign-accented speech

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOAN SERENO ◽  
LYNNE LAMMERS ◽  
ALLARD JONGMAN
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
The Other ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Relative Impact ◽  
Accented Speech ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Accented English

ABSTRACTThe present study examines the relative impact of segments and intonation on accentedness, comprehensibility, and intelligibility, specifically investigating the separate contribution of segmental and intonational information to perceived foreign accent in Korean-accented English. Two English speakers and two Korean speakers recorded 40 English sentences. The sentences were manipulated by combining segments from one speaker with intonation (fundamental frequency contour and duration) from another speaker. Four versions of each sentence were created: one English control (English segments and English intonation), one Korean control (Korean segments and Korean intonation), and two Korean–English combinations (one with English segments and Korean intonation; the other with Korean segments and English intonation). Forty native English speakers transcribed the sentences for intelligibility and rated their comprehensibility and accentedness. The data show that segments had a significant effect on accentedness, comprehensibility, and intelligibility, but intonation only had an effect on intelligibility. Contrary to previous studies, the present study, separating segments from intonation, suggests that segmental information contributes substantially more to the perception of foreign accentedness than intonation. Native speakers seem to rely mainly on segments when determining foreign accentedness.

scholarly journals Translating English WOMAN IS AN ANIMAL metaphors: Spanish native speakers’ associations with novel metaphors

2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-66
Author(s):  
Kristina Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sexually Active ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Likert Scales ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Conventional Animal

Animal metaphors are prevalent across languages and convey a variety of, oftentimes negative, meanings – more so for women than men. In English, for example, both lion and lioness refer to a sexually active, dominant man or woman respectively, but while the former is endowed with positive connotations (courage, strength), the latter evokes negative associations (danger, voracity). There are some animal terms, however, that do not feature in animal metaphors in a certain language, posing the question as to which associations are evoked by those animal terms that are not part of conventional animal metaphors. This paper explores Spanish speakers’ interpretations of mappings of the woman is an animal metaphor that are documented to exist in English but not in Spanish. This was tested with two online questionnaires, one employing open questions and the other one Likert scales presenting possible traits (e. g. quarrelsome, kind, promiscuous), in which Spanish speakers had to judge the animal metaphors which were translated from English. The results show that the novel animal metaphors are mainly associated by Spanish native speakers with negative features, first and foremost with ugliness. Additionally, most of the animal terms convey different meanings in English and Spanish. For example, musaraña, the Spanish equivalent of shrew, is not associated with bad temper and quarrelling, but instead with ugliness and muddleheadedness. Furthermore, the findings reveal significant insecurities in the interpretation of the translated metaphors by the Spanish speakers. These results might be an indication for both the arbitrariness and the stableness of associations with different animal species, depending on the speakers’ culture. It also seems that novel animal metaphors mainly provide mental access to unattractiveness as it is a concrete physical feature and might therefore be more accessible than abstract personality traits such as kindness or quarrelsomeness.

Acoustic Sources of Accent in Second Language Japanese Speech

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaori Idemaru ◽  
Peipei Wei ◽  
Lucy Gubbins
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
First Language ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Acoustic Measurements ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Chinese Speakers

This study reports an exploratory analysis of the acoustic characteristics of second language (L2) speech which give rise to the perception of a foreign accent. Japanese speech samples were collected from American English and Mandarin Chinese speakers ( n = 16 in each group) studying Japanese. The L2 participants and native speakers ( n = 10) provided speech samples modeling after six short sentences. Segmental (vowels and stops) and prosodic features (rhythm, tone, and fluency) were examined. Native Japanese listeners ( n = 10) rated the samples with regard to degrees of foreign accent. The analyses predicting accent ratings based on the acoustic measurements indicated that one of the prosodic features in particular, tone (defined as high and low patterns of pitch accent and intonation in this study), plays an important role in robustly predicting accent rating in L2 Japanese across the two first language (L1) backgrounds. These results were consistent with the prediction based on phonological and phonetic comparisons between Japanese and English, as well as Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. The results also revealed L1-specific predictors of perceived accent in Japanese. The findings of this study contribute to the growing literature that examines sources of perceived foreign accent.

Dynamic localization in second language English and German

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARY GRANTHAM O’BRIEN ◽  
CAROLINE FÉRY
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
The Other ◽  
Final Position ◽  
Dynamic Localization ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Grammatical Structures ◽  
Pitch Accents

Marking new and given constituents requires speakers to use morphosyntactic and phonological cues within a discourse context. The current study uses a dynamic localization paradigm whereby German and English native speakers, with the other language as a second language (L2), describe constellations of pictures. In each picture a new or reintroduced animal is localized relative to other animals, thereby allowing for control of newness vs. givenness of animals. Participants completed the task in their native language (L1) and L2. English native speakers use predominantly canonical word order and often mark the new object with a falling pitch accent. German native speakers use a given-before-new word order, even when this is non-canonical, and they use a rising pitch accent in non-final position. The results indicate that speakers easily transfer unmarked grammatical structures – both word order and pitch accents – from their L1 to their L2.

Cross-modal priming differences between native and nonnative Spanish speakers

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Herd ◽  
Joan Sereno ◽  
Allard Jongman
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Native Spanish Speakers ◽  
Visual Targets ◽  
American English Speakers

AbstractTraining has been shown to improve American English speakers’ perception and production of the Spanish /ɾ, r, d/ contrast; however, it is unclear whether successfully trained contrasts are encoded in the lexicon. This study investigates whether learners of Spanish process the /ɾ, r, d/ contrast differently than native speakers and whether training affects processing. Using a cross-modal priming design, thirty-three Spanish learners were compared to ten native Spanish speakers. For native speakers, auditory primes with intervocalic taps (like [koɾo]) resulted in faster reaction times in response to matching visual targets (like

Age and Understanding Speakers with Spanish or Taiwanese Accents

2003 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela N. Burda ◽  
Carlin F. Hageman ◽  
Julie A. Scherz ◽  
Harold T. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Other ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Accented Speech ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Two Age Groups

This pilot study concerned the intelligibility of accented speech for listeners of different ages. 72 native speakers of English, representing three age groups (20–39, 40–59, 60 and older) listened to words and sentences produced by native speakers of English, Taiwanese, and Spanish. Listeners transcribed words and sentences. Listeners also rated speakers' comprehensibility, i.e., listeners' perceptions of difficulty in understanding utterances, and accentedness, i.e., how strong a speaker's foreign accent is perceived to be. On intelligibility measures, older adults had significantly greater difficulty in understanding individuals with accented speech than the other two age groups. Listeners, regardless of age, were more likely to provide correct responses if they perceived the speaker easier to understand. Ratings of comprehensibility were highly correlated with ratings of accentedness.

scholarly journals A multimodal cognitive approach to aid the conceptualization of Spanish utterances with ‘se’

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 677-710
Author(s):  
Renia Lopez-Ozieblo
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cognitive Grammar ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Peninsular Spanish ◽  
Advanced Proficiency

AbstractMost native speakers of Spanish are intuitively able to construct correct structures with the marker ‘se’. On the other hand, non-native speakers, even those at advanced proficiency levels, have difficulties producing most constructions with ‘se’. This is hardly surprising as the marker ‘se’, one of the most common words in Spanish, can convey highly pragmatic nuances with a variety of functions that are still much debated among linguists. This study analyses some of the most used functions of the marker in the oral production of 18 Peninsular Spanish speakers from a multimodal Cognitive Grammar approach, identifying how gestures might be employed by speakers to create or clarify meaning. Our results confirm that gestures are used differently depending on the function of the marker. Middle voices where ‘se’ marks high levels of subject involvement and/or energy co-occur with related gestures, while middle voices or impersonal structures, where the involvement and/or energy is low, co-occur more often with unrelated gestures, if any.

TEM studies of tweed microstructures in annealed amelia albite

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 1064-1065
Author(s):  
Y. J. Kim ◽  
D. M. Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Annealing Time ◽  
The Other ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Systematic Trend ◽  
Tweed Structure

Natural Amelia albite (Ab99.3An0.1Or0.6) annealed at 1073° and 924°C for various periods up to 140 days has been studied by NMR. TEM studies of the same sample revealed a distinct tweed microstructure in some samples annealed at both 1073°C and 924°C. On the whole, the quasi-regular tweed has a periodicity of 100 - 200 Å in both directions, one nearly normal to b* and the other approximately parallel to b*, which gives rise to two-directional streaking in SADP’s (Fig. 1 and 2). However, there are some differences in the tweed structure developed on annealing at 1073°C and at 924°C in albite.Albite samples annealed at 1073° show a systematic trend in their development of tweed structures: the regularity, periodicity, and frequency of occurrence increase with annealing time during the first 3 days, and then decrease gradually until no tweed microstructures are seen in samples annealed for more than 15 days. The tweed structure proceeds locally to form one-directional twin-like microstructures.

An Epistemological Criticism of Social Entrepreneurship: Is Social Entrepreneurship a Sound Scientific Field of Research

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Forouharfar
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Social Epistemology ◽  
American English ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Knowledge Structure ◽  
Scientific Field ◽  
The Other ◽  
First Time

The paper was shaped around the pivotal question: Is SE a sound and scientific field of research? The question has given a critical tone to the paper and has also helped to bring out some of the controversial debates in the realm of SE. The paper was organized under five main discussions to be able to provide a scientific answer to the research question: (1)<b> </b>is “social entrepreneurship” an oxymoron?, (2) the characteristics of SE knowledge, (3) sources of social entrepreneurship knowledge, (4) SE knowledge: structure and limitations and (5) contributing epistemology-making concepts for SE.<b> </b>Based on the sections,<b> </b>the study relied on the relevant philosophical schools of thought in <i>Epistemology </i>(e.g. <i>Empiricism</i>, <i>Rationalism</i>, <i>Skepticism</i>, <i>Internalism</i> vs. <i>Externalism</i>,<i> Essentialism, Social Constructivism</i>, <i>Social Epistemology, etc.</i>) to discuss these controversies around SE and proposes some solutions by reviewing SE literature. Also, to determine the governing linguistic discourse in the realm of SE, which was necessary for our discussion,<i> Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA)</i> for the first time in SE studies was used. Further, through the study, SE buzzwords which constitute SE terminology were derived and introduced to help us narrowing down and converging the thoughts in this field and demarking the epistemological boundaries of SE. The originality of the paper on one hand lies in its pioneering discussions on SE epistemology and on the other hand in paving the way for a construction of sound epistemology for SE; therefore in many cases after preparing the philosophical ground for the discussions, it went beyond the prevalent SE literature through meta-analysis to discuss the cases which were raised. The results of the study verified previously claimed embryonic pre-paradigmatic phase in SE which was far from a sound and scientific knowledge, although the scholarly endeavors are the harbingers of such a possibility in the future which calls for further mature academic discussion and development of SE knowledge by the SE academia.

The role of cross-linguistic stress pattern frequency and word similarity on the acquisition of English stress pattern by native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Post Silveira
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
American English ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Stress Pattern ◽  
Target Language ◽  
English As Second Language ◽  
Word Similarity ◽  
L1 Transfer

This is a preliminary study in which we investigate the acquisition of English as second language (L2[1]) word stress by native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese (BP, L1[2]). In this paper, we show results of a multiple choice forced choice perception test in which native speakers of American English and native speakers of Dutch judged the production of English words bearing pre-final stress that were both cognates and non-cognates with BP words. The tokens were produced by native speakers of American English and by Brazilians that speak English as a second language. The results have shown that American and Dutch listeners were consistent in their judgments on native and non-native stress productions and both speakers' groups produced variation in stress in relation to the canonical pattern. However, the variability found in American English points to the prosodic patterns of English and the variability found in Brazilian English points to the stress patterns of Portuguese. It occurs especially in words whose forms activate neighboring similar words in the L1. Transfer from the L1 appears both at segmental and prosodic levels in BP English. [1] L2 stands for second language, foreign language, target language. [2] L1 stands for first language, mother tongue, source language.

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