A contrastive analysis of the sound structure of Sotho-Tswana for second-language acquisition

The paper addresses second language teaching of phonetic, phonological and prosodic features in the Sotho-Tswana languages (Southern Bantu) from a linguistic perspective. It motivates the inclusion of phonetic, phonological and prosodic background knowledge in second language teaching, and singles out potential areas of learners’ difficulties based on a comparative analysis, assuming a Germanic language as the learner’s first language. It adopts the idea that learner problems can be overcome by a mixture of linguistic background explanation and practical, contrast-directed exercises.

Speech data acquisition: the underestimated challenge

(This version makes 1 correction to the references: BARBOSA 2012 was cited in the text but missing from the list of references.)International audienceThe second half of the 20th century was the dawn of information technology; and we now live in the digital age. Experimental studies of prosody develop at a fast pace, in the context of an "explosion of evidence" (Janet Pierrehumbert, Speech Prosody 2010, Chicago). The ease with which anyone can now do recordings should not veil the complexity of the data collection process, however. This article aims at sensitizing students and scientists from the various fields of speech and language research to the fact that speech-data acquisition is an underestimated challenge. Eliciting data that reflect the communicative processes at play in language requires special precautions in devising experimental procedures and a fundamental understanding of both ends of the elicitation process: speaker and recording facilities. The article compiles basic information on each of these requirements and recapitulates some pieces of practical advice, drawing many examples from prosody studies, a field where the thoughtful conception of experimental protocols is especially crucial

Acoustic Realization and Perception of English Lexical Stress by Mandarin Learners

The acquisition of English lexical stress by Mandarin L2 learners was examined. An acoustic study focusing on the implementation of mean F0, max F0, duration, intensity, and F2 in stressed and unstressed vowels in noun-verb word pairs contrasting in stress location (e.g. object-object) was conducted. The results indicate that native English speakers use all correlates in nouns but rely mostly on duration in verbs. The learners use these cues more consistently across different contexts. A perceptual study utilizing the disyllabic nonword 'dada', with resynthesized max F0, duration, and vowel quality indicates that full vowels induce stronger stress perception in all listener groups. Beginning listeners relied on duration, advanced listeners focused on max F0, while native listeners used both in perception. The similarities and differences in prosodic systems between Mandarin and English, as well as the possible discrepancies in production and perception data from second language learning research were discussed

Domain-General Auditory Processing Partially Explains Second Language Speech Learning in Classroom Settings: A Review and Generalization Study

To date, a growing number of studies have shown that domain‐general auditory processing, which prior work has linked to L1 acquisition, could explain various dimensions of naturalistic L2 speech proficiency. The current study examined the generalizability of this topic to L2 speech learning in classroom settings. The spontaneous speech samples of 39 Vietnamese English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language learners were analyzed for fluent and accurate use of pronunciation and lexicogrammar and linked to a range of variables in their auditory processing profiles. The results identified moderate‐to‐strong correlations between the participants’ accurate use of lexicogrammar and audio‐motor sequence integration scores (i.e., the ability to reproduce melodic/rhythmic information). However, the relationship between phonological proficiency and auditory acuity (i.e., the ability to encode acoustic details of sounds) was nonsignificant. Although the findings support the audition‐acquisition link to classroom L2 speech learning to some degree, they only suggest that this link is robust for the acquisition of lexicogrammar information

Production and Perception of Swedish Word Accents by Somali L1 Speakers

In this thesis, the production and perception of Swedish word accents by Somali L1 speakers is investigated. The Feature hypothesis, stating that it is easier to acquire a phonological feature in an L2 if the same phonological feature is used in the L1 will be the framework used. Somali is a language that also makes us of word accents. Therefore, the two languages are placed in the same level of the Tonal prominence hierarchy and the L2 acquisition of Swedish word accents by Somali L1 speakers is suitable to test. The production is tested by analyzing read speech, with elicited target words in focal position with either accent 1 or accent 2. The perception is tested with a discrimination test of the two word accents, and two different Swedish varieties are used: Central Swedish and South Swedish. Two groups are tested. One consists of Somali L1 speakers with Swedish L2 and one consists of speakers with both Somali and Swedish L1. The results show that the L2 group does make the distinction between A1 and A2 in the production test, but the result for the 2L1 group is less clear and can be interpreted as that they did not make use of the Swedish word accents. In the perception test, none of the two groups performed better than chance and had significantly lower scores than a Swedish L1 control group. The findings in this thesis confirm the Feature hypothesis in the production part, but contradict it in the perception part

Teaching Listening For Prominence In Combination With Reading To Help Students Determine New Information

The purpose of this study was to assess whether teaching adult English Language Learners (ELLs) to listen for new information spoken with prominence on the target new information increased their ability to make inferences about meaning. Data collected included: a pre and post-test to assess students’ learning during the intervention; an uptake sheet to solicit students’ self-perception of their learning about pronunciation and placement of new information; and a Likert scale to elicit participants’ self-assessment of their ability to identify and use prominence. While results of the post-test on selecting the correct inference were inconclusive, quantitative and qualitative data indicated gains in hearing prominence

Proceedings of the VIIth GSCP International Conference

The 7th International Conference of the Gruppo di Studi sulla Comunicazione Parlata, dedicated to the memory of Claire Blanche-Benveniste, chose as its main theme Speech and Corpora. The wide international origin of the 235 authors from 21 countries and 95 institutions led to papers on many different languages. The 89 papers of this volume reflect the themes of the conference: spoken corpora compilation and annotation, with the technological connected fields; the relation between prosody and pragmatics; speech pathologies; and different papers on phonetics, speech and linguistic analysis, pragmatics and sociolinguistics. Many papers are also dedicated to speech and second language studies. The online publication with FUP allows direct access to sound and video linked to papers (when downloaded)

Akustické vlastnosti slovního přízvuku ve čtené české anglictině

klíčová slova: česká angličtina, cizí přízvuk, slovní přízvuk, přízvučná slabika, trvání, f0, akustické vlastnosti. Tato studie zkoumá akustické vlastnosti slovního přízvuku v české angličtině. První kapitola vysvětluje problém cizího přízvuku z různých úhlů pohledu. Dále se zabývá různými vlivy na pociťovanou sílu cizího přízvuku. Závěrem je, že chybná realizace slovního přízvuku má jistě negativní vliv jak na hodnocení mluvčího tak na srozumitelnost řeči (Benrabah, 1997; Hahn, 2004; Cutler, 1984). V druhé kapitole porovnáváme výsledky studií, které zkoumaly mluvčí různých jazyků a předkládáme všeobecnou teorii osvojování akustických vlastností slovního přízvuku. Zajímají nás především f0 a trvání. Tato teorie, založená na hypotéze rysů (feature hypothesis) (McAllister et al., 2002 v Lee, Guion & Harada, 2006), říká, že jazyky, jejichž systém slovního přízvuku se podobá angličtině (např. holandština a arabština), používají akustické vlastnosti užívané v jejich rodném jazyce. Oproti tomu mluvčí jazyků s nekontrastivním slovním přízvukem (např. vietnamština a čeština) dávají přednost těm akustickým vlastnostem, které jsou v jejich rodném jazyce fonologicky aktivní na úrovni segmentů. Mluvčí vietnamštiny, tónového jazyka, preferují f0 před trváním vokálu (Nguyen, 2003), takže pro mluvčí češtiny,...key words: Czech English, foreign accent, word stress, word accent, stressed syllable, duration, f0, acoustic cues. This study investigates the acoustic properties of word stress in Czech English. The notion of foreign accent is introduced and its drawbacks are presented. Further on the various influences on the perceived degree, or strength, of foreign accent are discussed. Faulty realization of word stress is identified as one of the factors that contribute to unintelligibility of non-native speech (Benrabah, 1997; Hahn, 2004; Cutler, 1984). In Chapter 2 we compare the results of studies that used speakers of a variety of languages and form a basic theory on the acquisition of acoustic cues to word stress. We are mostly interested in f0 and duration. This theory, based on the feature hypothesis (McAllister et al., 2002 in Lee, Guion & Harada, 2006), states that languages that have a similar stress system to that of English (Dutch, Arabic) use their native cues to signal word stress, while non-contrastive languages (Vietnamese, Czech) prefer cue/s that are phonologically active on segmental level in their native language. Speakers of Vietnamese, a tone language, were found to prefer f0 over duration (Nguyen, 2003), so for Czech, a language that uses phonological vowel duration, it is expected that...Institute of PhoneticsFonetický ústavFaculty of ArtsFilozofická fakult

Impact of the usage of Vietnamese consonant-vowel (CV) structure on the intelligibility of Vietnamese speakers of English

This paper reports on findings from an investigation into the potential impact of the mother tongue of 50 Vietnamese adult EFL learners on their English intelligibility, with a particular focus on CV (consonant - vowel) syllable structure. The data from this quantitative study indicate that participants applied the Vietnamese CV syllable structure (open syllables CV.V) to the pronunciation of English CVC syllable structure (closed syllables CVC.V particularly in polysyllabic words and words with CVL (consonant – vowel – lateral) structure, potentially affecting speech intelligibility. These outcomes contribute to research on EFL speakers’ intelligibility