Extending perceptual assimilation model to L3 phonological acquisition

The scarcity of research on speech perception among multilingual speakers precludes a full understanding of phonological acquisition in the third language (L3). In this controlled case study, we investigate L3 phonological acquisition in the perceptual domain and test the predictions of Perceptual Assimilation Model- L2 (Best & Tyler, 2007) adopted for multilingual learners. We employed an AX discrimination task, testing categorical discrimination of Polish sibilants, and a cross-linguistic similarity task, testing perceptual distance between Polish, English and German vowels. We examined L3 Polish perception in 10 multilinguals (aged 14) with L1 German and L2 English who differed in terms of language status (heritage vs. non-heritage). Their perception tasks performance was analysed for accuracy and reaction time. The cross-linguistic similarity task demonstrated that multilinguals assimilate some L3 sounds to both L1 and L2 categories, with a preference for the latter. In the majority of cases multilinguals make a distinction between similar L1, L2 and L3 sounds. The AX results showed that even beginner L3 learners distinguish highly similar L3 sibilant pairs. Our data suggests that the PAM-L2 model could also be extended to L3 acquisition; however, beginner L3 learners seem more likely to perceive subtle acoustic differences in novel phonological contrast

Cross-Linguistic Interactions in Third Language Acquisition: Evidence from Multi-Feature Analysis of Speech Perception

Research on third language (L3) phonological acquisition has shown that Cross-Linguistic Influence (CLI) plays a role not only in forming the newly acquired language but also in reshaping the previously established ones. Only a few studies to date have examined cross-linguistic effects in the speech perception of multilingual learners. The aim of this study is to explore the development of speech perception in young multilinguals’ non-native languages (L2 and L3) and to trace the patterns of CLI between their phonological subsystems over time. The participants were 13 L1 Polish speakers (aged 12–13), learning English as L2 and German as L3. They performed a forced-choice goodness task in L2 and L3 to test their perception of rhotics and final obstruent (de)voicing. Response accuracy and reaction times were recorded for analyses at two testing times. The results indicate that CLI in perceptual development is feature-dependent with relative stability evidenced for L2 rhotics, reverse trends for L3 rhotics, and no significant development for L2/L3 (de)voicing. We also found that the source of CLI differed across the speakers’ languages: the perception accuracy of rhotics differed significantly with respect to stimulus properties, that is, whether they were L1-, L2-, or L3-accented