Chapter 10
L2 sociolinguistic perception of stylistic variation
Attitudes toward two variable linguistic features of
Spanish
There is growing interest in using experimental
perception tasks to study the sociolinguistic competence of second
language learners. Previous studies on L2 attitudes and perception
have largely focused on single linguistic variants presented in
guises with limited social context. This chapter reports on a study
that explores the L2 sociolinguistic perception of stylistic
variation in Spanish. L2 learner participants
(n = 108) completed a matched-guise task in which
they evaluated digitally manipulated audio guises containing the
variable reduction of [paɾa] to [pa] and the variable weakening of
coda /s/. The guises were rated according to social attractiveness
and social superiority. Linear mixed-effects modeling selected
speaker voice, linguistic variables, and experience with linguistic
courses as significant factors in predicting the attitudinal
responses.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Review of literature
- 2.1Stylistic variation and social meaning
- 2.2Second language communicative competence
- 2.3L2 attitudes and sociolinguistic perception in
Spanish
- 2.4Spanish coda /s/-weakening
- 2.5Reduction of [paɾa] to [pa]
- 3.Research questions
- 4.Methods
- 4.1Participants
- 4.2Tasks and procedures
- 4.2.1Spanish matched-guise task
- 4.2.2Proficiency measure and background questionnaire
- 4.3Statistical analysis
- 5.Results
- 6.Discussion
- 7.Conclusion
-
Note
-
References
References (39)
References
Adamson, H. D. & Regan, V. M. (1991). The
acquisition of community speech norms by Asian immigrants
learning English as a second
language. Studies in Second
Language
Acquisition, 13 (2), 1–22. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bentivoglio, P., Guirado, K., & Suárez, G. (2005). La
variación entre para y pa
en el habla de
Caracas. In M. L. Ramírez (Ed.), Homenaje
a Montes Giraldo. Estudios de dialectología, lexicografía,
lingüística general, etnolingüística e historia
cultural (pp. 214–37). Instituto Caro y Cuervo.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bentivoglio, P., & Sedano, M. (2011). Morphosyntactic
variation in Spanish speaking Latin
America. In M. Diaz-Campos (Ed.), The
Handbook of Hispanic
Sociolinguistics, (pp. 168–186). Blackwell. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Campbell-Kibler, K. (2007). Accent,
(ING), and the social logic of listener
perceptions. American
Speech, 82(1), 32–64. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Campbell-Kibler, K. (2011). The
sociolinguisic variant as a carrier of social
meaning. Language Variation
and
Change, 22, 423–441. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical
bases of communicative approaches to second language
teaching and testing. Applied
Linguistics, 1, 1–47. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cargile, A., Giles, H., Ryan, E. B., & Bradac, J. (1994). Language
attitudes as a social process: A conceptual model and new
directions. Language &
Communication, 14(3), 211–36. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Carter, P., & Callesano, S. (2018). The
Social meaning of Spanish in Maimi: dialect perceptions and
implications for socioeconomic class, income, and
emloyment. Latino
Studies, 16, 65–90. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chappell, W. (2019). Caribeño
or mexicano, profesionista or albañil?: Mexican listeners’
evaluations of /s/ aspiration and maintenance in Mexican and
Puerto Rican
voices. Sociolinguistic
Studies 12(3–4), 367–393. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chappell, Whitney and Matthew Kanwit. 2022. Do learners connect sociophonetic variation with regional and social characteristics? The case of L2 perception of Spanish aspiration. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 44(1): 185–209. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clark, L. & Schleef, E. (2010). The
acquisition of sociolinguistic evaluation among Polish born
adolescents learning English: Evidence from
perception. Language
Awareness 19(4) 299–322. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clopper, C. G., & Bradlow, A. R. (2009). Free
classification of American English dialects by native and
non-native listeners. Journal
of
Phonetics 37(4), 436–451. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Díaz-Campos, M., Fafulas, S., & Gradoville, M. (2012). Variable
degrees of constituency: Frequency effects in the
alternation of pa vs. para
in spoken
discourse. In M. Díaz-Campos & K. Geeslin (Eds.), Selected
Proceedings of the 14th Hispanic Linguistics
Symposium, (pp.75–87). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
D’Onofrio, A. (2020). Personae
in sociolinguistic
variation. WIREs Cogn
Sci, 11, e1543. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Drager, K. & Hay, J. (2012). Exploiting random intercepts: Two case studies in sociophonetics. Language Variation and Change 24(1): 59–78. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Eckert, P. (2008). Variation
and the indexical
field. Journal of
Sociolinguistics, 12, 453–476. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Escalante, C. (2018). “¡Ya
pué[h]! Perception of coda-/s/ weakening among L2 and
heritage speakers in coastal
Ecuador.” EuroAmerican
Journal of Applied Linguistics and
Languages 5(1), 1–26. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Geeslin, K. (2003). A
comparison of copula choice: Native Spanish speakers and
advanced learners. Language
Learning, 53, 703–764. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Geeslin, K., Linford, B. & Fafulas, S. (2015). Variable
subject expression in second language Spanish: Uncovering
the developmental sequence and predictive linguistic
factors. In A. M. Carvalho, R. Orozco, & N. Lapidus Shin (Eds.), Subject
Pronoun Expression in Spanish: A Cross-dialectal
perspective (pp.193–212). Georgetown University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Geeslin, K. & Long, A. Y. (2014). Sociolinguistics
and Second Language Acqusition: Learning to Use Language in
Context. Routledge. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Geeslin, K. & Schmidt, L. B. (2018). Study
abroad and L2 learner
attitudes. In C. Sanz & A. Morales-Front (Eds.), The
Routledge Handbook of Study Abroad Research and Practice
(Chp.
25). Routledge. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Geeslin, K., Gudmestad, A., Kanwit, M., Linford, B., Long, A. Y., Schmidt, L. & Solon, M. (2018). Sociolinguistic
competence and the acquisition of
speaking. In R. A. Alonso (Ed.), Speaking
in a Second
Language (pp.1–25). John Benjamins. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hernández Campoy, J., & Jiménez Cano, J. (2003). Broadcasting
Standardization: An analysis of the linguistic normalisation
process in Murcian Spanish. Journal of
Sociolinguistics 32(2), 227–255.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
IBM
Corp. (2021). IBM
SPSS Statistics for
windows (Version
28.0) [Computer
software]. IBM Corp.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Labov, W., Ash, S., Ravindranath, M., Weldon, T., Baranowski, M., & Nagy, N. (2011). Properties
of the sociolinguistic
monitor. Journal of
Sociolinguistics, 15(4), 431–463. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lambert, W. E., Hodgson, R. C., Gardner, R. C., & Fillenbaum, S. (1960). Evaluational Reactions to Spoken Language. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 60, 44–51. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lipski, J. M. (2011). Socio-phonological
variation in Latin American
Spanish. In M. Díaz-Campos (Ed.) The
Handbook of Spanish
Sociolinguistics (pp.72–97). Wiley-Blackwell. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mougeon, R., Nasadi, T. & Rehner, K. (2010). The
Sociolinguistic Competence of Immersion
Students. Multilingual Matters. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Núñez-Méndez, E. (2022). Variation
in Spanish /s/: Overview and New
Perspectives. Languages, 7(77),1–50. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schilling, N. (2013). Investigating
Stylistic
Variation. In J. K. Chambers & N. Schilling, The
Handbook of Language Variation and
Change (pp. 327–349), Wiley-Blackwell. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schmidt, L. B. (2018). L2
development of perceptual categorization of dialect sounds:
A study in Spanish. Studies
in Second Language
Acquisition 40, 857–882. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schoonmaker-Gates, E. (2017). Regional
variation in the language classroom and beyond: Mapping
learners’ developing dialectal
competence.” Foreign Language
Annals, 50(1), 177–194. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schoonmaker-Gates, E. (2020). The
Acquisition of Dialect-specific phonology, phonetics, and
sociolinguistics in L2 Spanish: Untangling Learner
Trends. Critical
Multilingualism
Studies, 8(1), 80–103.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Solon, M. & Kanwit, M. (2022). New
methods for tracking development of sociophonetician
competence: Exploring a preference task for Spanish /d/
deletion. Applied
Linguistics. Advance online
publication. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tarone, E. (1985). Variability
in interlanguage use: A study of style-shifting in
morphology and
syntax. Language
learning, 35(3), 373–403. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
van Compernolle, R. & Williams, L. (2012). “Reconceptualizing
Sociolinguistic Competence as Mediated Action: Identity,
Meaning-Making, Agency. The
Modern Language
Journal, 96, ii, 234–250. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Walker, A., García, C., Cortés, Y., & Campbell-Kibler, K. (2014). Comparing
social meanings across listener and speaker groups: The
indexical field of Spanish
/s/. Language Variation and
Change, 26(2), 169–89. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Zahn, C. J. H., Robert. (1985). Measuring
Language Attitudes: The Speech Evaluation
Instrument. Journal of
Language and Social
Psychology, 4(2), 113–123. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
Gudmestad, Aarnes, Amanda Edmonds, Carlos Henderson & Christina Lindqvist
2024.
The interpretation of verbal moods in Spanish: A close replication of Kanwit and Geeslin (2014).
Studies in Second Language Acquisition ► pp. 1 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.