Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T03:05:29.191Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

First language attrition in the speech of Dutch–English bilinguals: The case of monozygotic twin sisters*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2012

ROBERT MAYR ,
SACHA PRICE  and
INEKE MENNEN
ROBERT MAYR*
Affiliation:
Centre for Speech and Language Therapy, Cardiff Metropolitan University
SACHA PRICE
Affiliation:
Centre for Speech and Language Therapy, Cardiff Metropolitan University
INEKE MENNEN
Affiliation:
ESRC Centre for Research on Bilingualism in Theory and Practice, Bangor University
*
Address for correspondence: Robert Mayr, Centre for Speech and Language Therapy, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Llandaff Campus, Cardiff CF5 2YB, South Wales, UK[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Recent years have seen a proliferation of research on attrition in L1 speech (de Leeuw, Mennen & Scobbie, in press; de Leeuw, Schmid & Mennen, 2010; Dmitrieva, Jongman & Sereno, 2010; Mennen, 2004). Adding to this line of inquiry, the present study investigates the speech of a 62-year-old bilingual monozygotic twin who emigrated to an L2-speaking environment 30 years ago. Changes in L1 accent were assessed by comparing her speech to that of her identical twin sister who remained in the L1-speaking environment, thus providing a unique control setting. Acoustic analyses of voice onset time and vowels indicate pervasive changes to the emigrated twin's L1 accent, with attrition presenting in the form of cross-linguistic assimilation patterns. Interestingly, her L1 vowel space exhibited a systematic increase in first formant frequency, confirming claims that L1 and L2 sounds may be related to each other at a system-wide level (Chang, 2010, 2011; Guion, 2003). Implications for theoretical models of bilingual sound systems are discussed.

Keywords

L1 attritionbilingual monozygotic twinsvoice onset timevowels
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , October 2012 , pp. 687 - 700
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

The authors wish to thank MZ and TZ for their participation in the study. Thanks also go to Monika Schmid, two anonymous reviewers as well as the audience at the 8th International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB8, University of Oslo, Norway, June 15–18 2011) for valuable feedback on the research presented in this paper.

References

Adank, P., van Hout, R., & Smits, R. (2004). An acoustic description of the vowels of Northern and Southern Standard Dutch. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 116, 1729–1738.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Best, C. T., & Tyler, M. D. (2007). Non-native and second-language speech perception: commonalities and complementarities. In Bohn, O.-S. & Munro, M. (eds.), Language experience in second-language speech learning: In honor of James Emil Flege, pp. 13–34. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boersma, P., & Weenink, D. (2010). PRAAT: Doing phonetics by computer (version 5.1.31). Institute of Phonetic Sciences, University of Amsterdam, http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat (retrieved April 5, 2010).Google Scholar
Booij, G. E. (1995). The phonology of Dutch. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bullock, B. E., & Gerfen, C. (2004a). Phonological convergence in a contracting language variety. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 7, 95–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullock, B. E., & Gerfen, C. (2004b). Frenchville French: A case study in phonological attrition. International Journal of Bilingualism, 8, 303–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullock, B. E., & Gerfen, C. (2005). The preservation of schwa in the converging phonological system of Frenchville (PA) French. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 8, 117–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, M. (2002). An L1-specific CALL pedagogy for the instruction of pronunciation with Korean learners of English. Ph.D. dissertation, Macquarie University.Google Scholar
Chang, C. B. (2010). First language phonetic drift during second language acquisition. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Chang, C. B. (2011). Systemic drift of L1 vowels in novice L2 learners. In Lee, W.-S. & Zee, E. (eds.), Proceedings of the 17th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS XVII), pp. 428–431. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong.Google Scholar
Cho, T., & Ladefoged, P. (1999). Variation and universals in VOT: Evidence from 18 languages. Journal of Phonetics, 27, 207–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, B., & Mees, I. M. (2003). The phonetics of English and Dutch. Leiden: Brill.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Leeuw, E. (2009). When your native language sounds foreign: A phonetic investigation into first language attrition. Ph.D. dissertation, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh.Google Scholar
de Leeuw, E., Mennen, I., & Scobbie, J. M. (in press). Singing a different tune in your native language: First language attrition of prosody. International Journal of Bilingualism, doi:10.1177/1367006911405576. Sage Publications, published online on June 7, 2011.Google Scholar
de Leeuw, E., Schmid, M., & Mennen, I. (2010). The effects of contact on native language pronunciation in an L2 migrant context. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13, 33–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deterding, D. H. (1997). The formants of monophthong vowels in Standard Southern British English pronunciation. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 27, 47–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dmitrieva, O., Jongman, A., & Sereno, J. (2010). Phonological neutralization by native and non-native speakers: The case of Russian final devoicing. Journal of Phonetics, 38, 483–492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Docherty, G. J. (1992). The timing of voicing in British English obstruents. Berlin & New York: Foris.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Escudero, P. (2005). Linguistic perception and second language acquisition: Explaining the attainment of optimal phonological categorization (LOT Dissertation Series 113). Utrecht: LOT.Google Scholar
Fitch, W. T., & Giedd, J. (1999). Morphology and development of the human vocal tract: A study using magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 106, 1511–1522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Flege, J. E. (1987). The production of ‘new’ and ‘similar’ phones in a foreign language: Evidence for the effect of equivalence classification. Journal of Phonetics, 15, 47–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flege, J. E. (1995). Second-language speech learning: Theory, findings and problems. In Strange, W. (ed.), Speech perception and linguistic experience: Issues in cross-language research, pp. 233–277. Timonium, MD: York Press.Google Scholar
Flege, J. E. (2002). Interactions between the native and second-language phonetic systems. In Burmeister, P., Piske, T. & Rohde, A. (eds.), An integrated view of language development: Papers in honor of Henning Wode, pp. 217–243. Trier: WVT.Google Scholar
Flege, J. E., & Eefting, W. (1987). Cross-language switching in stop consonant perception and production by Dutch speakers of English. Speech Communication, 6, 185–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flege, J. E., Schirru, C., & MacKay, I. R. A. (2003). Interaction between native and second-language phonetic subsystems. Speech Communication, 40, 467–491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldstein, E. B. (2010). Sensation and perception (8th edn.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.Google Scholar
Grosjean, F. (1989). Neurolinguists beware! The bilingual is not two monolinguals in one person. Brain and Language, 36, 3–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grosjean, F. (2001). The bilingual's language modes. In Nicol, J. (ed.), One mind, two languages: Bilingual language processing, pp. 1–22. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Guion, S. G. (2003). The vowel systems of Quichua–Spanish bilinguals: Age of acquisition effects on the mutual influence of the first and second languages. Phonetica, 60, 98–128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gussenhoven, C. (1999). Illustrations of the IPA: Dutch. In IPA, Handbook of the International Phonetic Association, pp. 74–77. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Harrington, J. (2006). An acoustic analysis of ‘happy-tensing’ in the Queen's Christmas broadcasts. Journal of Phonetics, 34, 439–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrington, J., Palethorpe, S., & Watson, C. (2000a). Does the Queen speak the Queen's English? Nature, 408, 927–928.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harrington, J., Palethorpe, S., & Watson, C. (2000b). Monophthongal vowel changes in Received Pronunciation: An acoustic analysis of the Queen's Christmas broadcasts. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 30, 63–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkins, S., & Midgley, J. (2005). Formant frequencies of RP monophthongs in four age groups of speakers. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 35, 183–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopp, H., & Schmid, M. (in press). Perceived foreign accent in L1 attrition and L2 acquisition: The impact of age of acquisition and bilingualism. Applied Psycholinguistics, doi:10.1017/S0142716411000737. Cambridge University Press, published online on December 21, 2011.Google Scholar
Jansen, W. (2004). Laryngeal contrast and phonetic voicing: A laboratory phonology approach to English, Hungarian and Dutch. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Groningen.Google Scholar
Köpke, B., & Schmid, M. (2004). Language attrition: The next phase. In Schmid, M., Köpke, B., Keijzer, M. & Weilemar, L. (eds.), First language attrition: Interdisciplinary perspectives on methodological issues, pp. 1–43. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Lado, R. (1957). Linguistics across cultures. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Lindblom, B. (1986). Phonetic universals in vowel systems. In Ohala, J. J. & Jaeger, J. J. (eds.), Experimental phonology, pp. 13–44. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Lindblom, B. (1998). Systemic constraints and adaptive change in the formation of sound structures. In Hurford, J. R., Studdert-Kennedy, M. & Knight, C. (eds.), Approaches to the evolution of language: Social and cognitive bases, pp. 242–264. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lisker, L., & Abramson, A. S. (1964). A cross-language study of voicing in initial stops: Acoustic measurements. Word, 20, 384–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loakes, D. (2006). A forensic phonetic investigation into the speech patterns of identical and non-identical twins. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Melbourne.Google Scholar
Major, R. C. (1992). Losing English as a first language. The Modern Language Journal, 76, 190–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayr, R. (2005). The perception and production of German monophthongs by British learners of German. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Sheffield.Google Scholar
Mayr, R., & Escudero, P. (2010). Explaining individual variation in L2 perception: Rounded vowels in English learners of German. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13, 279–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mennen, I. (2004). Bi-directional interference in the intonation of Dutch speakers of Greek. Journal of Phonetics, 32, 543–563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mennen, I., Mayr, R., & Price, S. (2011). L1 attrition of prosody: The case of bilingual monozygotic twin sisters. Ms., Bangor University & Cardiff Metropolitan University.Google Scholar
Nolan, F., & Oh, T. (1996). Identical twins, different voices. Forensic Linguistics, 3, 39–49.Google Scholar
Peng, S. (1993). Cross-language influence on the production of Mandarin /f/ and /x/ and Taiwanese /h/ by native speakers of Taiwanese Amoy. Phonetica, 50, 245–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Przybyla, B. D., Horii, Y., & Crawford, M. H. (1992). Vocal fundamental frequency in a twin sample: Looking for a genetic effect. Journal of Voice, 3, 261–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roach, P. (2004). Illustrations of the IPA, British English: Received Pronunciation. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34, 239–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sancier, M. L., & Fowler, C. A. (1997). Gestural drift in a bilingual speaker of Brazilian Portuguese and English. Journal of Phonetics, 35, 421–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmid, M. (2010). Languages at play: The relevance of L1 attrition to the study of bilingualism. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simon, E. (2009). Acquiring a new second-language contrast: An analysis of the English laryngeal system of native speakers of Dutch. Second Language Research, 25, 377–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, P. M., Cannon, T. D., Narr, K. L., van Erp, T., Poutanen, V., Huttunen, M., Lönnqvist, J., Standertskjöld-Nordenstam, C., Kaprio, J., Khaledy, M., Dail, R., Zoumalan, C. I., & Toga, A. W. (2001). Genetic influences on brain structure. Nature Neuroscience, 4, 1253–1258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Alphen, P. M. (2004). Perceptual relevance of prevoicing in Dutch. Ph.D. dissertation, Radboud University, Nijmegen.Google Scholar
van Dommelen, W. A. (1983). Some observations on assimilation in voicing in German and Dutch. In van den Broecke, M., van Heuven, V. & Zonneveld, W. (eds.), Studies for Antonie Cohen: Sound structures, pp. 47–56. Dordrecht: Foris.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ventureyra, V. A. G., Pallier, C., & Yoo, H.-Y. (2004). The loss of first language phonetic perception in adopted Koreans. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 17, 79–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whiteside, S. P., & Rixon, E. (2003). Speech characteristics of monozygotic twins and a same-sex sibling: An acoustic case study of coarticulation patterns in read speech. Phonetica, 60, 273–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar