Covert contrast in the acquisition of second language phonology
-
Fred Eckman
Abstract
This paper reports results on the acquisition of the English /s/ – /z/ phonemic contrast by native speakers of Spanish. The central finding is that some of the research participants exhibited a covert contrast between these segments in their interlanguage productions. Acoustic analysis revealed that four of the participants produced a statistically reliable distinction between English [s] and [z], however, this difference was not perceived by the transcribers who were phonetically trained, native speakers of English. The existence of a stage of covert contrast in L2 phonology is eminently plausible, given the progressive nature of phonological acquisition, and brings the learning of second-language contrasts into conformity with findings in the areas of L1 acquisition and phonologically disordered speech.
Abstract
This paper reports results on the acquisition of the English /s/ – /z/ phonemic contrast by native speakers of Spanish. The central finding is that some of the research participants exhibited a covert contrast between these segments in their interlanguage productions. Acoustic analysis revealed that four of the participants produced a statistically reliable distinction between English [s] and [z], however, this difference was not perceived by the transcribers who were phonetically trained, native speakers of English. The existence of a stage of covert contrast in L2 phonology is eminently plausible, given the progressive nature of phonological acquisition, and brings the learning of second-language contrasts into conformity with findings in the areas of L1 acquisition and phonologically disordered speech.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword and tabula gratulatoria vii
- Introduction 1
-
Section 1. Representations and contrast
- Prosodic Licensing and the development of phonological and morphological representations 11
- Covert contrast in the acquisition of second language phonology 25
-
Section 2. Sources of individual differences in phonological acquisition
- Sibling rivalry 53
- Abstracting phonological generalizations 71
- Rapid phonological coding and working memory dynamics in children with cochlear implants 91
-
Section 3. Cross-linguistic approaches to phonological acquisition
- What guides children’s acquisition of #sC clusters? 115
- The role of phonological context in children’s overt marking of ‘-s’ in two dialects of American English 133
- German settlement varieties in Kansas 155
-
Section 4. Theoretical advances in the field
- The role of onsets in primary and secondary stress patterns 175
- A faithfulness conspiracy 199
- Superadditivity and limitations on syllable complexity in Bambara words 223
- Author index 249
- Subject index 253
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword and tabula gratulatoria vii
- Introduction 1
-
Section 1. Representations and contrast
- Prosodic Licensing and the development of phonological and morphological representations 11
- Covert contrast in the acquisition of second language phonology 25
-
Section 2. Sources of individual differences in phonological acquisition
- Sibling rivalry 53
- Abstracting phonological generalizations 71
- Rapid phonological coding and working memory dynamics in children with cochlear implants 91
-
Section 3. Cross-linguistic approaches to phonological acquisition
- What guides children’s acquisition of #sC clusters? 115
- The role of phonological context in children’s overt marking of ‘-s’ in two dialects of American English 133
- German settlement varieties in Kansas 155
-
Section 4. Theoretical advances in the field
- The role of onsets in primary and secondary stress patterns 175
- A faithfulness conspiracy 199
- Superadditivity and limitations on syllable complexity in Bambara words 223
- Author index 249
- Subject index 253
