Perception of nonnative tonal contrasts by Mandarin-English and English-Mandarin sequential bilinguals

This study examined the role of acquisition order and crosslinguistic similarity in influencing transfer at the initial stage of perceptually acquiring a tonal third language (L3). Perception of tones in Yoruba and Thai was tested in adult sequential bilinguals representing three different first (L1) and second language (L2) backgrounds: L1 Mandarin-L2 English (MEBs), L1 English-L2 Mandarin (EMBs), and L1 English-L2 intonational/non-tonal (EIBs). MEBs outperformed EMBs and EIBs in discriminating L3 tonal contrasts in both languages, while EMBs showed a small advantage over EIBs on Yoruba. All groups showed better overall discrimination in Thai than Yoruba, but group differences were more robust in Yoruba. MEBs’ and EMBs’ poor discrimination of certain L3 contrasts was further reflected in the L3 tones being perceived as similar to the same Mandarin tone; however, EIBs, with no knowledge of Mandarin, showed many of the same similarity judgments. These findings thus suggest that L1 tonal experience has a particularly facilitative effect in L3 tone perception, but there is also a facilitative effect of L2 tonal experience. Further, crosslinguistic perceptual similarity between L1/L2 and L3 tones, as well as acoustic similarity between different L3 tones, play a significant role at this early stage of L3 tone acquisition.Published versio

Phonetic drift

This chapter provides an overview of research on the phonetic changes that occur in one’s native language (L1) due to recent experience in another language (L2), a phenomenon known as phonetic drift. Through a survey of empirical findings on segmental and suprasegmental acoustic properties, the chapter examines the features of the L1 that are subject to phonetic drift, the cognitive mechanism(s) behind phonetic drift, and the various factors that influence the likelihood of phonetic drift. In short, virtually all aspects of L1 speech are subject to drift, but different aspects do not drift in the same manner, possibly due to multiple routes of L2 influence coexisting at different levels of L1 phonological structure. In addition to the timescale of these changes, the chapter discusses the relationship between phonetic drift and attrition as well as some of the enduring questions in this area.https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eQbh17Z4YsH8vY_XjCHGqi5QChfBKcAZhttps://drive.google.com/open?id=1eQbh17Z4YsH8vY_XjCHGqi5QChfBKcAZhttps://drive.google.com/open?id=1eQbh17Z4YsH8vY_XjCHGqi5QChfBKcAZAccepted manuscriptAccepted manuscrip

The phonetics of second language learning and bilingualism

This chapter provides an overview of major theories and findings in the field of second language (L2) phonetics and phonology. Four main conceptual frameworks are discussed and compared: the Perceptual Assimilation Model-L2, the Native Language Magnet Theory, the Automatic Selection Perception Model, and the Speech Learning Model. These frameworks differ in terms of their empirical focus, including the type of learner (e.g., beginner vs. advanced) and target modality (e.g., perception vs. production), and in terms of their theoretical assumptions, such as the basic unit or window of analysis that is relevant (e.g., articulatory gestures, position-specific allophones). Despite the divergences among these theories, three recurring themes emerge from the literature reviewed. First, the learning of a target L2 structure (segment, prosodic pattern, etc.) is influenced by phonetic and/or phonological similarity to structures in the native language (L1). In particular, L1-L2 similarity exists at multiple levels and does not necessarily benefit L2 outcomes. Second, the role played by certain factors, such as acoustic phonetic similarity between close L1 and L2 sounds, changes over the course of learning, such that advanced learners may differ from novice learners with respect to the effect of a specific variable on observed L2 behavior. Third, the connection between L2 perception and production (insofar as the two are hypothesized to be linked) differs significantly from the perception-production links observed in L1 acquisition. In service of elucidating the predictive differences among these theories, this contribution discusses studies that have investigated L2 perception and/or production primarily at a segmental level. In addition to summarizing the areas in which there is broad consensus, the chapter points out a number of questions which remain a source of debate in the field today.https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uHX9K99Bl31vMZNRWL-YmU7O2p1tG2wHhttps://drive.google.com/open?id=1uHX9K99Bl31vMZNRWL-YmU7O2p1tG2wHhttps://drive.google.com/open?id=1uHX9K99Bl31vMZNRWL-YmU7O2p1tG2wHAccepted manuscriptAccepted manuscrip

Context effects on second-language learning of tonal contrasts.

Studies of lexical tone  learning generally focus on monosyllabic contexts, while reports of phonetic learning benefits associated with input variability are based largely on experienced learners. This study trained inexperienced learners on Mandarin tonal contrasts to test two hypotheses regarding the influence of context and variability on tone  learning. The first hypothesis was that increased phonetic variability of tones in disyllabic contexts makes initial tone  learning more challenging in disyllabic than monosyllabic words. The second hypothesis was that the learnability of a given tone varies across contexts due to differences in tonal variability. Results of a word learning experiment supported both hypotheses: tones were acquired less successfully in disyllables than in monosyllables, and the relative difficulty of disyllables was closely related to contextual tonal variability. These results indicate limited relevance of monosyllable-based data on Mandarin learning for the disyllabic majority of the Mandarin lexicon. Furthermore, in the short term, variability can diminish learning; its effects are not necessarily beneficial but dependent on acquisition stage and other learner characteristics. These findings thus highlight the importance of considering contextual variability and the interaction between variability and type of learner in the design, interpretation, and application of research on phonetic learning

Hakka tone training for native speakers of tonal and nontonal languages

Language learning becomes increasingly difficult when novel linguistic features are introduced. Studies have shown that learners from various language backgrounds can be trained to perceive lexical tone, which assigns meaning to words using variations in pitch. In this thesis, we investigated whether native speakers of tonal Mandarin Chinese and tonal Vietnamese outperformed native speakers of nontonal English when learning Hakka Chinese tones following five sessions of tone training, and whether the complexity (i.e., density) of a listener’s native tone inventory facilitated nonnative tone learning. All groups improved in tone identification and tone word learning following training, with improvements persisting three weeks following the cessation of training. Although both tonal groups outperformed the English group in most tasks, the Mandarin group showed the most consistent advantages over the English group across tasks. Findings suggest that tone experience bolsters tone learning, but density of the tone inventory does not provide an advantage. Confusion patterns offer detailed insight of the interaction between nonnative tones and native tonal and intonational categories

Leveraging metalinguistic awareness and L1 prosody in the learning of L2 prosody: the case of Mandarin speakers learning English sentence stress

Prosody encodes meanings (Levis & Wichmann, 2015) and significantly influences L2 English speakers' intelligibility and comprehensibility (Anderson-Hsieh, Johnson, & Koehler, 1992; Derwing, Munro, & Wiebe, 1998). However, L2 English speakers are deficient in using English prosody to realize pragmatic functions (Pickering, 2001; Wennerstrom, 1998), hindering effective communication between L1 English speakers and L2 English speakers. Furthermore, due to the complex and dynamic nature of prosody, English prosody teaching is particularly challenging for teachers. Reed and Michaud (2015) argue that metalinguistic awareness is an essential factor in effective prosody teaching. However, research studies providing empirical support for their claim are lacking. Furthermore, in recent years, an increasing number of research studies discovered similarities between Mandarin and English prosodic features and functions (Chen & Gussenhoven, 2008; Ouyang & Kaiser, 2015), suggesting the possibility to use crosslinguistic transfer to facilitate the teaching of English prosody. However, research studies investigating the efficacy of crosslinguistic based prosody pedagogy are also lacking. This study investigates the role of imitation, metalinguistic awareness, and L1 prosody in English prosody teaching by examining the efficacy of three prosody teaching methods: imitation-based prosody teaching (IT), monolingual metalinguistic awareness- based prosody teaching (mono-MAT) and crosslinguistic metalinguistic awareness-based prosody teaching (cross-MAT). 48 participants were randomized into four groups and received different kinds of intervention: (1) IT, (2) mono-MAT, (3) cross-MAT and (4) interview (control group). Participants' use of English prosody was elicited in a pretest, an immediate posttest, and a two-week delayed posttest by means of a read-aloud task and a picture narrative task eliciting participants' spontaneous speech. Participants' use of sentence stress was rated by six native English speakers based on 9-point Likert scales. The stressed constituents in participants' read-aloud speech were further analyzed regarding average pitch level, pitch range, duration, and intensity. Linear mixed-effects analysis was conducted to compare participants' use of sentence stress across groups and tests. The results suggest that metalinguistic awareness plays a critical role in prosody learning. The results also suggest the advantage of crosslinguistic prosody teaching. This study expands the breadth of pronunciation teaching by exploring the prosodic similarities across languages. This study increases the depth of pronunciation teaching by encouraging a paradigm shift from imitating the prosodic patterns to understanding the connection between the linguistic patterns and the pragmatic functions of prosodic features

Production of Mandarin Chinese Tones by Sri Lankan CFL Learners: An Acoustic Analysis

Tonal variation in Mandarin forms a relationship with the meanings of words at a lexical level. Tones and tone sandhi are considered distinctive features of Mandarin Chinese phonetics; thus, acquiring accurate Mandarin pronunciation is challenging for speakers of other languages. The present study examined the production of Mandarin tones by Sri Lankan learners through acoustic analysis of f0 using Praat. The study participants were seven (n=7) undergraduate students at intermediate-level Chinese. Each participant recorded a sample of 20 elements, totaling 140 at three tiers: isolation, disyllabic form, and synthesis. The recorded acoustic data were analyzed using Praat 5.4.04 and SPSS Statistics 21. The results indicated that the mean f0 values of the realization of the four tones by the informants are heterogenous at all three tiers. The realization of T3 demonstrated a low accuracy, while T2 was realized with the highest accuracy at all three tiers. As revealed by the tone sandhi analysis, participants have resorted to the underlying representation of the tone sandhi than the surface realization

Prosodic challenges faced by English speakers reading Mandarin

This study compares the prosodic characteristics of L2-Mandarin as spoken by L1-English speakers using L1-Mandarin utterances. The acoustic correlates examined include individual tonal realizations, interactions of tones in sequence, durational features and intensity envelopes. L2-Mandarin users realize the contour tones RISE and FALL with both rising and falling pitch, and produce the second tone of disyllabic words with more varied pitch. L2-users employ larger vowel durations, syllable durations and larger variation over vowel intervals in sequential pairs than L1-Mandarin users. Both user groups show similar intensity envelopes. Implications of this study include tailoring language training programs that counterbalance L1 influences

The influence of pitch contour on Mandarin speakers\u27 perception of English stress

Previous studies on L2 stress perception have mainly focused on words in isolation or in single intonational contexts. This paper reports on a study exploring the influence of different intonation contours, falling (declarative) and rising (yes/no question), on nonnative speakers\u27 stress identification. The study compared the perception of stress position in English words by native speakers of Mandarin, a tone language, and English, a stress language. The results showed that Mandarin speakers exhibited misperception of stress position when high tones did not coincide with the stressed syllable. As a control condition, native English speakers also displayed misperception of stress, but to a lesser extent in the condition of initial stress. Tonal transfer and asymmetrical cue usage are believed to be responsible for the perceptual differences