Chapter published in:
Variation and Evolution: Aspects of language contact and contrast across the Spanish-speaking worldEdited by Sandro Sessarego, Juan J. Colomina-Almiñana and Adrián Rodríguez-Riccelli
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 29] 2020
► pp. 127–162
Chapter 6Did you say peso or
beso?
The perception of prevoicing by L2 Spanish learners
Matthew Pollock | 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
Published online: 11 August 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.29.06pol
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.29.06pol
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