Chapter 6. Did you say peso or beso ?
-
Matthew Pollock
Abstract
The Perceptual Assimilation Model for L2 speakers and the Speech Learning Model make predictions about the difficulty of acquisition based on pre-existing boundaries in learners’ L1s. This study focuses on differences between voice onset time in English and Spanish stops, especially related to perceptual cues. Participants – 10 Spanish native speakers and 131 L1 English learners of Spanish at various levels – categorized 120 stimuli containing Spanish minimal pairs beginning with voiced and voiceless stops and the distractor /r/. Classifications varied based on acoustic manipulations of VOT, the original phone, and proficiency level. While VOT is an important determiner in perceptual boundaries, and learners can acquire L2 distinctions (although often not achieving native-like patterns), additional acoustic differences affect sound identification.
Abstract
The Perceptual Assimilation Model for L2 speakers and the Speech Learning Model make predictions about the difficulty of acquisition based on pre-existing boundaries in learners’ L1s. This study focuses on differences between voice onset time in English and Spanish stops, especially related to perceptual cues. Participants – 10 Spanish native speakers and 131 L1 English learners of Spanish at various levels – categorized 120 stimuli containing Spanish minimal pairs beginning with voiced and voiceless stops and the distractor /r/. Classifications varied based on acoustic manipulations of VOT, the original phone, and proficiency level. While VOT is an important determiner in perceptual boundaries, and learners can acquire L2 distinctions (although often not achieving native-like patterns), additional acoustic differences affect sound identification.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Social and linguistic factors shaping language dynamics across the Spanish-speaking world 1
-
Part I. Morpho-syntax & semantics
- Chapter 1. Cross-dialectal productivity of the Spanish subjunctive in nominal clause complements 11
- Chapter 2. Mood selection in a contact variety 33
- Chapter 3. A corpus analysis of the structural elaboration of Spanish heritage language learners 55
- Chapter 4. Evidentiality and epistemic modality in the Andean Spanish verb 75
-
Part II. Phonetics & phonology
- Chapter 5. Realizations of /b/ in the Spanish of Lima, Peru 107
- Chapter 6. Did you say peso or beso ? 127
- Chapter 7. Sheísmo in Montevideo Spanish 163
-
Part III. Language attitudes & choice
- Chapter 8. ‘Debemos aprender y manejar un poco mejor el español’ 189
- Chapter 9. Language choice and use by bilingual preschoolers 211
- Chapter 10. Decolonial sociolinguistics gestures of Andean Quechua-Spanish bilingual college students promoting Quechua 231
- Chapter 11. New Mochica and the challenge of reviving an extinct language 253
- Index 275
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Social and linguistic factors shaping language dynamics across the Spanish-speaking world 1
-
Part I. Morpho-syntax & semantics
- Chapter 1. Cross-dialectal productivity of the Spanish subjunctive in nominal clause complements 11
- Chapter 2. Mood selection in a contact variety 33
- Chapter 3. A corpus analysis of the structural elaboration of Spanish heritage language learners 55
- Chapter 4. Evidentiality and epistemic modality in the Andean Spanish verb 75
-
Part II. Phonetics & phonology
- Chapter 5. Realizations of /b/ in the Spanish of Lima, Peru 107
- Chapter 6. Did you say peso or beso ? 127
- Chapter 7. Sheísmo in Montevideo Spanish 163
-
Part III. Language attitudes & choice
- Chapter 8. ‘Debemos aprender y manejar un poco mejor el español’ 189
- Chapter 9. Language choice and use by bilingual preschoolers 211
- Chapter 10. Decolonial sociolinguistics gestures of Andean Quechua-Spanish bilingual college students promoting Quechua 231
- Chapter 11. New Mochica and the challenge of reviving an extinct language 253
- Index 275
