Investigating second language pronunciation

Pronunciation that deviates from native norms – what many refer to as a ‘foreign accent’ – in second and additional languages acts an immediate marker. It has been shown to negatively affect attitudes toward the speaker in question. Native speakers of a given language are tuned in to accents, and research has shown that all but the youngest second language learners acquire accented speech. This contribution focuses primarily on the methodological and theoretical issues surrounding investigations of pronunciation in a second language from the perspective of both the speaker and the listener. The notions of foreign accent, intelligibility and comprehensibility are explored, and current research in second language pronunciation and pronunciation training are presented.