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Variation and Evolution: Aspects of language contact and contrast across the Spanish-speaking world
Edited by Sandro Sessarego, Juan J. Colomina-Almiñana and Adrián Rodríguez-Riccelli
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 29] 2020
► pp. 127–162

Chapter 6
Did you say peso or beso?

The perception of prevoicing by L2 Spanish learners

| Indiana University
The Perceptual Assimilation Model for L2 speakers and the Speech Learning Model make predictions about the difficulty of acquisition based on pre-existing boundaries in learners’ L1s. This study focuses on differences between voice onset time in English and Spanish stops, especially related to perceptual cues. Participants – 10 Spanish native speakers and 131 L1 English learners of Spanish at various levels – categorized 120 stimuli containing Spanish minimal pairs beginning with voiced and voiceless stops and the distractor /r/. Classifications varied based on acoustic manipulations of VOT, the original phone, and proficiency level. While VOT is an important determiner in perceptual boundaries, and learners can acquire L2 distinctions (although often not achieving native-like patterns), additional acoustic differences affect sound identification.
Keywords: perception, prevoicing, VOT, experimental phonetics, acquisition, L2 learning, PAM L2, SLM
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Review of relevant literature
    • 2.1Perceptual acquisition in the language classroom
    • 2.2The acoustic space of monolingual Spanish and English speakers
    • 2.3Acoustic and acquisitional tendencies of bilinguals
    • 2.4Theoretical models of L2 perception
    • 2.5Research questions
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Production and manipulation of stimuli
    • 3.3Instrument design
    • 3.4Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Qualitative description of Spanish stops
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1RQ1: To what extent do L1 English speakers follow native-like perception norms when identifying Spanish stops, and how does this reflect the two types of perceptual classifications described by PAM L2 or SLM?
    • 5.2RQ2: What social and linguistic constraints govern listeners’ perceptions of stop constraints, and how important was VOT specifically to their classification?
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 11 August 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.29.06pol
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