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Cross-language phonetic similarity of vowels

Theoretical and methodological issues
  • Winifred Strange
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Language Experience in Second Language Speech Learning
This chapter is in the book Language Experience in Second Language Speech Learning

Abstract

Current theories of second language (L2) speech perception/production have been developed to explain the relative difficulties L2 learners have in learning specific non-native phonetic segments/contrasts. In each theory, the concept of cross-language (L1/L2) phonetic similarity is invoked to account for the fact that some non-native contrasts are more difficult to perceptually differentiate (and to produce authentically) than others, both initially and after years of experience with the L2. In this paper, two kinds of empirical techniques used to establish L1/L2 similarity of vowel systems are described and critiqued: 1) quantitative analyses of L1/L2 acoustic similarity and 2) perceptual assimilation paradigms that directly ask listeners to judge the similarity of L1 and L2 vowels. Methodological issues addressed include: a) the development of appropriate production/listening protocols, b) assessment of the relative contribution of spectral (quality) and temporal (quantity) parameters in specifying crosslanguage phonetic similarity of vowels, c) the design of perceptual assimilation tasks, and d) the statistical treatment of similarity judgments. Finally, the conditions under which results from acoustic comparisons and perceptual similarity tasks either agree or conflict will be discussed in terms of their implications about the nature of the underlying representations of L1 and L2 phonetic categories.

Abstract

Current theories of second language (L2) speech perception/production have been developed to explain the relative difficulties L2 learners have in learning specific non-native phonetic segments/contrasts. In each theory, the concept of cross-language (L1/L2) phonetic similarity is invoked to account for the fact that some non-native contrasts are more difficult to perceptually differentiate (and to produce authentically) than others, both initially and after years of experience with the L2. In this paper, two kinds of empirical techniques used to establish L1/L2 similarity of vowel systems are described and critiqued: 1) quantitative analyses of L1/L2 acoustic similarity and 2) perceptual assimilation paradigms that directly ask listeners to judge the similarity of L1 and L2 vowels. Methodological issues addressed include: a) the development of appropriate production/listening protocols, b) assessment of the relative contribution of spectral (quality) and temporal (quantity) parameters in specifying crosslanguage phonetic similarity of vowels, c) the design of perceptual assimilation tasks, and d) the statistical treatment of similarity judgments. Finally, the conditions under which results from acoustic comparisons and perceptual similarity tasks either agree or conflict will be discussed in terms of their implications about the nature of the underlying representations of L1 and L2 phonetic categories.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Dedication ix
  4. Alphabetical List of Contributors xi
  5. Acknowledgments xv
  6. Biographical Note xvii
  7. PART I: The nature of L2 speech learning
  8. The study of second language speech learning 3
  9. Nonnative and second-language speech perception 13
  10. Cross-language phonetic similarity of vowels 35
  11. Investigating the role of attention in phonetic learning 57
  12. You are what you eat phonetically 79
  13. PART II: The concept of foreign accent
  14. Nativelike pronunciation among late learners of French as a second language 99
  15. Second language acquisition of a regional dialect of American English by native Japanese speakers 117
  16. Acoustic variability and perceptual learning 135
  17. PART III: Consonants and vowels
  18. Strategies for Realization of L2-Categories 153
  19. Temporal remnants from Mandarin in nonnative English speech 167
  20. Cross-language consonant identification 185
  21. The relationship between identification and discrimination in cross-language perception 201
  22. PART IV: Beyond consonants and vowels
  23. Music and language learning 221
  24. Behavioral and cortical effects of learning a second language 239
  25. The perception of tones and phones 259
  26. Prosody in second language acquisition 281
  27. PART V: Emerging issues
  28. Implications of James E. Flege’s research for the foreign language classroom 301
  29. Speech learning, lexical reorganization, and the development of word recognition by native and non-native English speakers 315
  30. Phonemic errors in different word positions and their effects on intelligibility of non-native speech 331
  31. The graphical basis of phones and phonemes 349
  32. References 367
  33. Author Index 399
  34. Subject Index 405
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.17.08str

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Dedication ix
  4. Alphabetical List of Contributors xi
  5. Acknowledgments xv
  6. Biographical Note xvii
  7. PART I: The nature of L2 speech learning
  8. The study of second language speech learning 3
  9. Nonnative and second-language speech perception 13
  10. Cross-language phonetic similarity of vowels 35
  11. Investigating the role of attention in phonetic learning 57
  12. You are what you eat phonetically 79
  13. PART II: The concept of foreign accent
  14. Nativelike pronunciation among late learners of French as a second language 99
  15. Second language acquisition of a regional dialect of American English by native Japanese speakers 117
  16. Acoustic variability and perceptual learning 135
  17. PART III: Consonants and vowels
  18. Strategies for Realization of L2-Categories 153
  19. Temporal remnants from Mandarin in nonnative English speech 167
  20. Cross-language consonant identification 185
  21. The relationship between identification and discrimination in cross-language perception 201
  22. PART IV: Beyond consonants and vowels
  23. Music and language learning 221
  24. Behavioral and cortical effects of learning a second language 239
  25. The perception of tones and phones 259
  26. Prosody in second language acquisition 281
  27. PART V: Emerging issues
  28. Implications of James E. Flege’s research for the foreign language classroom 301
  29. Speech learning, lexical reorganization, and the development of word recognition by native and non-native English speakers 315
  30. Phonemic errors in different word positions and their effects on intelligibility of non-native speech 331
  31. The graphical basis of phones and phonemes 349
  32. References 367
  33. Author Index 399
  34. Subject Index 405
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