Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T06:46:45.813Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

LEARNING SECOND LANGUAGE SUPRASEGMENTALS: Effect of L2 Experience on Prosody and Fluency Characteristics of L2 Speech

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2006

Pavel Trofimovich  and
Wendy Baker
Pavel Trofimovich
Affiliation:
Concordia University
Wendy Baker
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study examines effects of short, medium, and extended second language (L2) experience (3 months, 3 years, and 10 years of United States residence, respectively) on the production of five suprasegmentals (stress timing, peak alignment, speech rate, pause frequency, and pause duration) in six English declarative sentences by 30 adult Korean learners of English and 10 adult native English speakers. Acoustic analyses and listener judgments were used to determine how accurately the suprasegmentals were produced and to what extent they contributed to foreign accent. Results revealed that amount of experience influenced the production of one suprasegmental (stress timing), whereas adult learners' age at the time of first extensive exposure to the L2 (indexed as age of arrival in the United States) influenced the production of others (speech rate, pause frequency, pause duration). Moreover, it was found that suprasegmentals contributed to foreign accent at all levels of experience and that some suprasegmentals (pause duration, speech rate) were more likely to do so than others (stress timing, peak alignment). Overall, results revealed similarities between L2 segmental and suprasegmental learning.This research was partially supported by research grants from the University of Illinois and Brigham Young University. Many thanks are extended to Youngju Hong for her help in testing the Korean participants and to Molly Mack and James E. Flege for their advice throughout this research project. The authors gratefully acknowledge Randall Halter, Elizabeth Gatbonton, and five anonymous SSLA reviewers for their helpful suggestions on earlier drafts of this paper as well as Randall Halter for his invaluable statistical assistance.

Type
Research Article
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , March 2006 , pp. 1 - 30
Copyright
© 2006 Cambridge University Press

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.)

References

REFERENCES

Abberton, E. & Fourcin, A. (1975). Visual feedback in the acquisition of intonation. In E. H. Lenneberg & E. Lenneberg (Eds.), Foundations of language development 2 (pp. 157–165). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Albrechtsen, D., Henriksen, B., & Faerch, C. (1980). Native speaker reactions to learners' spoken interlanguage. Language Learning, 30, 365–396.Google Scholar
Anderson-Hsieh, J. & Koehler, K. (1988). The effect of foreign accent and speaking rate on native speaker comprehension. Language Learning, 38, 561–613.Google Scholar
Anderson-Hsieh, J., Johnson, R., & Koehler, K. (1992). The relationship between native speaker judgments of nonnative pronunciation and deviance in segmentals, prosody, and syllable structure. Language Learning, 42, 529–555.Google Scholar
Aoyama, K., Flege, J.E., Guion, S.G., Akahane-Yamada, R., & Yamada, T. (2004). Perceived phonetic dissimilarity and L2 speech learning: The case of Japanese /[fish-hook R]/ and English /l/ and /[turned R]. Journal of Phonetics, 32, 233–250.Google Scholar
Bailey, T.M., Plunkett, K., & Scarpa, E. (1999). A cross-linguistic study in learning prosodic rhythms: Rules, constraints, and similarity. Language and Speech, 42, 1–38.Google Scholar
Baker, W., Trofimovich, P., Mack, M., & Flege, J.E. (2001). The effect of perceived phonetic similarity on non-native sound learning by children and adults. In B. Skarabela, S. Fish, & A. H.-J. Do (Eds.), Proceedings of the Annual Boston University Conference in Language Development (pp. 36–47). Boston: Cascadilla Press.
Best, C.T. (1995). A direct-realist perspective on cross-language speech perception. In W. Strange (Ed.), Speech perception and linguistic experience: Issues in cross-language research (pp. 171–206). Timonium, MD: York Press.
Birdsong, D. & Molis, M. (2001). On the evidence for maturational constraints in second language acquisition. Journal of Memory and Language, 44, 235–249.Google Scholar
Bohn, O.-S. & Flege, J.E. (1990). Interlingual identification and the role of foreign language experience in L2 vowel perception. Applied Psycholinguistics, 11, 303–328.Google Scholar
Bolinger, D. (1965). Pitch accent and sentence rhythm. In I. Abi & T. Kanekiyo (Eds.), Forms of English: Accent, morpheme, order (pp. 139–180). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bolinger, D. (1989). Intonation and its uses: Melody in grammar and discourse. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Botinis, A., Granström, B., & Möbius, B. (2001). Developments and paradigms in intonation research. Speech Communication, 33, 263–296.Google Scholar
Brennan, E. & Brennan, J. (1981). Measurement of accent and attitude toward Mexican-American speech. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 10, 487–501.Google Scholar
Broselow, E., Chen, S.-I., & Wang, C. (1998). The emergence of the unmarked in second language phonology. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 20, 261–280.Google Scholar
Cenoz, J. (2000). Pauses and hesitation phenomena in second language production. ILT Review of Applied Linguistics, 127–128, 53–69.Google Scholar
Chincotta, D. & Underwood, G. (1998). Non-temporal determinants of bilingual memory capacity: The role of long-term representations and fluency. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 1, 117–130.Google Scholar
Christophe, A., Gout, A., Peperkamp, S., & Morgan, J. (2003). Discovering words in a continuous speech stream: The role of prosody. Journal of Phonetics, 31, 585–598.Google Scholar
Christophe, A., Nespor, M., Guasti, M.-T., & Van Ooyen, B. (2003). Prosodic structure and syntactic acquisition: The case of the head-direction parameter. Developmental Science, 6, 211–220.Google Scholar
Chun, D.M. (2002). Discourse intonation in L2: From theory and research to practice. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Ciancio, J. (2001). Phonological interference and transference of a native English speaker when speaking Portuguese. CTJ Journal, 40, 25–38.Google Scholar
Costa, A. & Santesteban, M. (2004). Lexical access in bilingual speech production: Evidence from language switching in highly proficient bilinguals and L2 learners. Journal of Memory and Language, 50, 491–511.Google Scholar
Couper-Kuhlen, E. (1986). An introduction to English prosody. London: Edward Arnold.
Couper-Kuhlen, E. & Selting, M. (Eds.). (1996). Prosody in conversation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cutler, A., Dahan, D., & van Donselaar, W. (1997). Prosody in the comprehension of spoken language: A literature review. Language and Speech, 40, 141–201.Google Scholar
Dauer, R.M. (1983). Stress timing and syllable-timing reanalyzed. Journal of Phonetics, 11, 51–62.Google Scholar
de Bot, K. (1980). The role of feedback and feedforward in the teaching of pronunciation: An overview. System, 8, 35–45.Google Scholar
de Bot, K. (1981). Intonation teaching and pitch control. ILT Review of Applied Linguistics, 52, 31–42.Google Scholar
de Bot, K. (1983). Visual feedback of intonation: Part I. Effectiveness and induced practice behavior. Language and Speech, 26, 331–350.Google Scholar
de Bot, K. & Mailfert, K. (1982). The teaching of intonation: Fundamental research and classroom applications. TESOL Quarterly, 16, 71–77.Google Scholar
de Jong, K. (1994). Initial tones and prominence in Seoul Korean. OSU Working Papers in Linguistics, 43, 1–14.Google Scholar
Dechert, H.W. & Raupach, M. (1987). Prosodic patterns of proceduralized speech in second and first language narratives. In A. James & J. Leather (Eds.), Sound patterns in second language acquisition (pp. 81–102). Dordrecht: Foris Publications.
Derwing, T.M. (1990). Speech rate is no simple matter: Rate adjustment and NS-NNS communicative success. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, 303–313.Google Scholar
Derwing, T.M. & Munro, M.J. (1997). Accent, intelligibility, and comprehensibility: Evidence from four L1s. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 1–16.Google Scholar
Derwing, T.M., Munro, M.J., & Wiebe, G.E. (1998). Evidence in favor of a broad framework for pronunciation instruction. Language Learning, 48, 393–410.Google Scholar
Deterding, D. (2001). The measurement of rhythm: A comparison of Singapore and British English. Journal of Phonetics, 29, 217–230.Google Scholar
Face, T.L. (2003). Intonation in Spanish declaratives: Differences between lab speech and spontaneous speech. Catalan Journal of Linguistics, 2, 115–131.Google Scholar
Favreau, M. & Segalowitz, N. (1984). Automatic and controlled processes in the first- and second language reading of fluent bilinguals. Memory and Cognition, 11, 565–574.Google Scholar
Flege, J.E. (1988). Factors affecting degree of perceived foreign accent in English sentences. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 84, 70–79.Google Scholar
Flege, J.E. (1995). Second language speech learning: Theory, findings, and problems. In W. Strange (Ed.), Speech perception and linguistic experience: Issues in cross-language research (pp. 229–273). Timonium, MD: York Press.
Flege, J.E., Bohn, O.-S., & Jang, S. (1997). The effect of experience on nonnative subjects' production and perception of English vowels. Journal of Phonetics, 25, 437–470.Google Scholar
Flege, J.E., Frieda, A.M., & Nozawa, T. (1997). Amount of native-language (L1) use affects the pronunciation of an L2. Journal of Phonetics, 25, 169–186.Google Scholar
Flege, J.E. & Liu, S. (2001). The effect of experience on adults' acquisition of a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 527–552.Google Scholar
Flege, J.E. & MacKay, I.R.A. (2004). Perceiving vowels in a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 1–34.Google Scholar
Flege, J.E., Munro, M.J., & Skelton, L. (1992). The production of word-final English /t/-/d/ contrast by native speakers of English, Mandarin, and Spanish. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 92, 128–143.Google Scholar
Flege, J.E., Takagi, N., & Mann, V. (1995). Japanese adults can learn to produce English /r/ and /l/ accurately. Language and Speech, 38, 25–55.Google Scholar
Flege, J.E., Yeni-Komshian, G.H., & Liu, S. (1999). Age constraints on second language learning. Journal of Memory and Language, 41, 78–104.Google Scholar
Freland-Ricard, M. (1996). Second language learners' temporal and rhythmic organizations: A multilingual study. Revue de Phonétique Appliquée, 118–119, 61–91.Google Scholar
Gatbonton, E., Trofimovich, P., & Magid, M. (2005). Learners' ethnic group affiliation and L2 pronunciation accuracy: A sociolinguistic investigation. TESOL Quarterly, 39, 489–511.Google Scholar
Grabe, E., Rosner, B.S., Garcia-Albea, J.E., & Zhou, X. (2003). Perception of English intonation by English, Spanish, and Chinese listeners. Language and Speech, 46, 375–401.Google Scholar
Griffiths, R. (1991). Pausological research in an L2 context: A rationale and review of selected studies. Applied Linguistics, 12, 345–364.Google Scholar
Grosjean, F. & Deschamps, A. (1975). Analyse contrastive des variables temporelles de l'anglais et du français: Vitesse de parole et variables composantes, phénomènes d'hésitation [A contrastive analysis of English and French temporal variables: Speech rate and component variables, hesitation phenomena]. Phonetica, 31, 144–184.Google Scholar
Grosser, W. (1997). On the acquisition of tonal and accentual features of English by Austrian learners. In J. Leather & A. James (Eds.), Second language speech (pp. 211–228). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Grover, C., Jamieson, D.G., & Dobrovolsky, M.B. (1987). Intonation in English, French, and German: Perception and production. Language and Speech, 30, 277–295.Google Scholar
Guion, S.G., Flege, J.E., Liu, S.H., & Yeni-Komshian, G.H. (2000). Age of learning effects on the duration of sentences produced in a second language. Applied Psycholinguistics, 21, 205–228.Google Scholar
Guion, S.G., Harada, T., & Clark, J.J. (2004). Early and late Spanish-English bilinguals' acquisition of English word stress patterns. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 7, 207–226.Google Scholar
Gutiérrez-Díez, F. (2001). The acquisition of English syllable timing by native Spanish learners of English: An empirical study. International Journal of English Studies, 1, 93–113.Google Scholar
Hakuta, K., Bialystok, E., & Wiley, E. (2003). Critical evidence: A test of the Critical-Period Hypothesis for second language acquisition. Psychological Science, 14, 31–38.Google Scholar
Hardison, D.M. (2004). Generalizations of computer-assisted prosody training: Quantitative and qualitative findings. Language Learning and Technology, 8, 34–52.Google Scholar
Hirst, D. & Di Cristo, A. (1998). A survey of intonation systems. In D. Hirst & A. Di Cristo (Eds.), Intonation systems: A survey of twenty languages (pp. 1–44). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Holmes, M. (1995). A crosslinguistic comparison of the production of utterances in discourse. Cognition, 54, 169–207.Google Scholar
Ioup, G. & Tansomboon, A. (1987). The acquisition of tone: A maturational perspective. In G. Ioup & S. Weinberger (Eds.), Interlanguage phonology: The acquisition of a second language sound system (pp. 333–349). Cambridge, MA: Newbury House.
James, E. (1976). The acquisition of prosodic features using a speech visualizer. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 14, 227–243.Google Scholar
Jia, G. & Aaronson, D. (2003). A longitudinal study of Chinese children and adolescents learning English in the United States. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24, 131–161.Google Scholar
Jun, S.-A. (1996). The phonetics and phonology of Korean prosody: Intonational phonology and prosodic structure. New York: Garland Publications.
Jun, S.-A. (1998). The accentual phrase in the Korean prosodic hierarchy. Phonology, 15, 189–226.Google Scholar
Kim, J.S. & Kim, S.-H. (2001). Remarks on Korean speakers' realization of English intonation: Focusing on declarative sentences. Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics, 5, 187–207.Google Scholar
Koster, C.J. & Koet, T. (1993). The evaluation of accent in the English of Dutchmen. Language Learning, 43, 69–92.Google Scholar
Kowal, S., O'Connell, D.C., & Sabin, E.J. (1975). Development of temporal patterning and vocal hesitations in spontaneous narratives. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 4, 195–207.Google Scholar
Ladd, D.R., Faulkner, D., Faulkner, H., & Schepman, A. (1999). Constant “segmental anchoring” of F0 movements under changes in speech rate. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 106, 1543–1554.Google Scholar
Ladd, D.R., Mennen, I., & Schepman, A. (2000). Phonological conditioning of peak alignment in rising pitch accents in Dutch. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 107, 2685–2696.Google Scholar
Lane, H.L. (1963). Foreign accent and speech distortion. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 35, 451–453.Google Scholar
Lane, H.L. & Schneider, B. (1963). Methods of self-shaping echoic behavior. Modern Language Journal, 47, 154–160.Google Scholar
Leather, J. (1987). F0 pattern inferences in the perceptual acquisition of second language tone. In A. James & J. Leather (Eds.), Sound patterns in second language acquisition (pp. 59–80). Dordrecht: Foris Publications.
Lennon, P. (1990). Investigating fluency in EFL: A quantitative approach. Language Learning, 40, 387–417.Google Scholar
Lepetit, D. (1987). Cross-linguistic influence in intonation: French/Japanese and French/English. Language Learning, 39, 397–413.Google Scholar
Lim, B.-J. (2001). The role of syllable weight and position on prominence in Korean. Japanese/Korean Linguistics, 9, 420–433.Google Scholar
Major, R.C. (2002). The phonology of the L2 user. In V. Cook (Ed.), Portraits of the L2 user (pp. 67–92). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Major, R.C. & Faudree, M.C. (1996). Markedness universals and the acquisition of voicing contrasts by Korean speakers of English. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18, 69–90.Google Scholar
Mennen, I. (1998). Second language acquisition of intonation: The case of peak alignment. Chicago Linguistic Symposium, 34, 327–341.Google Scholar
Meuter, R.F.I. & Allport, A. (1999). Bilingual language switching in naming: Asymmetrical costs of language selection. Journal of Memory and Language, 40, 25–40.Google Scholar
Moyer, A. (1999). Ultimate attainment in L2 phonology: The critical factors of age, motivation, and instruction. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 81–108.Google Scholar
Munro, M.J. (1995). Nonsegmental factors in foreign accent: Ratings of filtered speech. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 17, 17–34.Google Scholar
Munro, M.J. & Derwing, T.M. (1995). Foreign accent, comprehensibility, and intelligibility in the speech of second language learners. Language Learning, 45, 73–97.Google Scholar
Munro, M.J. & Derwing, T.M. (1998). The effects of speaking rate on listener evaluations of native and foreign-accented speech. Language Learning, 48, 159–182.Google Scholar
Munro, M.J. & Derwing, T.M. (2001). Modeling perceptions of the accentedness and comprehensibility of L2 speech: The role of speaking rate. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 451–468.Google Scholar
Nakatani, L.H., O'Connor, K.D., & Aston, C.H. (1981). Prosodic aspects of American English speech rhythm. Phonetica, 38, 84–106.Google Scholar
O'Connell, D.C. & Kowal, S. (1972). Cross-linguistic pause and rate phenomena in adults and adolescents. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 1, 155–164.Google Scholar
Olynyk, M., D'Anglejan, A., & Sankoff, D. (1987). A quantitative and qualitative analysis of speech markers in the native and second language speech of bilinguals. Applied Psycholinguistics, 8, 121–136.Google Scholar
Pennington, M.C. & Ellis, N.C. (2000). Cantonese speakers' memory for English sentences with prosodic cues. Modern Language Journal, 84, 372–389.Google Scholar
Pierrehumbert, J.B. (1980). The phonology and phonetics of English intonation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, MIT, Cambridge, MA.
Pierrehumbert, J.B. (2003). Phonetic diversity, statistical learning, and acquisition of phonology. Language and Speech, 46, 115–154.Google Scholar
Rabinowitz, M., Ornstein, P.A., Folds-Bennett, T.H., & Schneider, W. (1994). Age-related differences in speed of processing: Unconfounding age and experience. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 57, 449–459.Google Scholar
Ramus, F., Nespor, M., & Mehler, J. (1999). Correlates of linguistic rhythm in the speech signal. Cognition, 73, 265–292.Google Scholar
Ratner, N.B. (2000). Elicited imitation and other methods for the analysis of trade-offs between speech and language skills in children. In L. Menn & N. B. Ratner (Eds.), Methods for studying language production (pp. 291–312). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Riazantseva, A. (2001). Second language proficiency and pausing: A study of Russian speakers of English. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 497–526.Google Scholar
Schachter, S., Christenfeld, N., Ravina, B., & Bilous, F. (1991). Speech disfluency and the structure of knowledge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 362–367.Google Scholar
Segalowitz, N.S. & Frenkiel-Fishman, S. (2005). Attention control and ability level in a complex cognitive skill: Attention-shifting and second language proficiency. Memory and Cognition, 33, 644–653.Google Scholar
Shen, X.S. (1990). Language by speakers of a tonal language: Chinese speakers learning French prosody. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 28, 119–134.Google Scholar
Silverman, K. & Pierrehumbert, J.B. (1990). The timing of prenuclear high accents in English. In J. Kingston & M. E. Beckman (Eds.), Papers in laboratory phonology: Part I. Between the grammar and the physics of speech. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Smith, S.C. (1997). UAB Software [Computer software]. Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham.
Stevens, G. (2004). Using census data to test the critical-period hypothesis for second language acquisition. Psychological Science, 15, 215–216.Google Scholar
t'Hart, J. & Collier, R. (1975). Integrating different levels of intonation analysis. Journal of Phonetics, 3, 235–255.Google Scholar
Tahta, S., Wood, M., & Loewenthal, K. (1981). Age changes in the ability to replicate foreign pronunciation and intonation. Language and Speech, 24, 363–373.Google Scholar
Towell, R. (2002). Relative degrees of fluency: A comparative case study of advanced learners of French. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 40, 117–150.Google Scholar
Towell, R., Hawkins, R., & Bazergui, N. (1996). The development of fluency in advanced learners of French. Applied Linguistics, 17, 84–119.Google Scholar
Ullman, M.T. (2001). The neural basis of lexicon and grammar in first and second language: The declarative/procedural model. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 4, 105–122.Google Scholar
Van Els, T. & de Bot, K. (1987). The role of intonation in foreign accent. Modern Language Journal, 71, 147–155.Google Scholar
Wennerstrom, A. (2000). The role of intonation in second language fluency. In H. Riggenbach (Ed.), Perspectives on fluency (pp. 102–127). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Wheeldon, L.R. & Lahiri, A. (1997). Prosodic units in speech production. Journal of Memory and Language, 37, 356–381.Google Scholar
Zsiga, E.C. (2003). Articulatory timing in a second language: Evidence from Russian and English. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 25, 399–432.Google Scholar
Zuengler, J. (1988). Identity markers and L2 pronunciation. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 10, 33–49.Google Scholar