Article published in:
Journal of Second Language Pronunciation
Vol. 2:2 (2016) ► pp. 160–182

Linguistic dimensions of second language accent and comprehensibility

Nonnative listeners’ perspectives

The current study investigated the effect of listener status (native, nonnative) and language background (French, Mandarin) on global ratings of second language speech. Twenty-six nonnative English listeners representing the two language backgrounds (n = 13 each) rated the comprehensibility and accentedness of 40 French speakers of English. These same speakers were previously rated by native listeners and coded for 19 linguistic measures of speech (e.g., segmental errors, word stress errors, grammar accuracy) in Trofimovich and Isaacs (2012). Analyses indicated no difference in global ratings between nonnative and native listeners, or between the two nonnative listener groups. Similarly, no major differences in the linguistic dimensions associated with each group’s ratings existed. However, analyses of verbal reports for a subset of nonnative listeners (n = 5 per group) demonstrated that each group attributed their ratings to somewhat different linguistic cues.
Keywords: comprehensibility, accent, raters, pronunciation, nonnative, native, English language
Published online: 23 August 2016
https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.2.2.02cro
References

References

Bent, T., & Bradlow, A.
(2003) The interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 114, 1600–1610. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Blommaert, J.
(2010) The sociolinguistics of globalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bradlow, A., & Bent, T.
(2008) Perceptual adaptation to nonnative speech. Cognition, 106, 707–729. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Brown, A.
(1995) The effect of rater variables in the development of an occupation-specific language performance test. Language Testing, 12, 1–15. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cook, V.
(2007) The goals of ELT: Reproducing native-speakers or promoting multicompetence among second language users? In J. Cummins & C. Davison (Eds.), International handbook of English language teaching. New York: Springer. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Crowther, D., Trofimovich, P., Saito, K., & Isaacs, T.
(2015) Second language comprehensibility revisited: Investigating the effects of learner background. TESOL Quarterly, 49, 814–837. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Derwing, T.M., & Munro, M.J.
(2013) The development of L2 oral language skills in two L1 groups: A 7‐year study. Language Learning, 63, 163–185.Google Scholar
(2015) Pronunciation fundamentals: Evidence-based perspectives for L2 teaching and research. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Derwing, T.M., Munro, M.J., Thomson, R.I., & Rossiter, M.J.
(2009) The relationship between L1 fluency and L2 fluency development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 31, 533–557. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Deterding, D., & Kirkpatrick, A.
(2006) Emerging south-east Asian English and intelligibility. World Englishes, 25(3/4), 391–409. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Duanmu, S.
(2007) The phonology of standard Chinese: The phonology of the world’s languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Fayer, J.M., & Krasinski, E.
(1987) Native and nonnative judgments of intelligibility and irritation. Language Learning, 37, 313–326. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Field, J.
(2005) Intelligibility and the listener: The role of lexical stress. TESOL Quarterly, 39, 399–423. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Flege, J.E.
(1988) Factors affecting degree of perceived foreign accent in English sentences. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 84, 70–79. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Harding, L.
(2012) Accent, listening assessment and the potential for a shared-L1 advantage: A DIF perspective. Language Testing, 29, 163–180. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hayes-Harb, R., & Hacking, J.F.
(2015) Beyond rating data: What do listeners believe underlies their accentedness judgments? Journal of Second Language Pronunciation, 1, 43–64. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hayes-Harb, R., Smith, B.L., Bent, T., & Bradlow, A.R.
(2008) The interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit for native speakers of Mandarin: Production and perception of English word-final voicing contrasts. Journal of phonetics, 36, 664–679. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Isaacs, T.
(2013) International engineering graduate students’ interactional patterns on a paired speaking test: Interlocutors’ perspectives. In K. McDonough & A. Mackey (Eds.), Second language interaction in diverse educational settings (pp. 227–246). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Isaacs, T., & Thomson, R.
(2013) Rater experience, rating scale length, and judgments of L2 pronunciation: Revisiting research conventions. Language Assessment Quarterly, 10, 125–159. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Issacs, T., & Trofimovich, P.
(2012) Deconstructing comprehensibility: Identifying the linguistic influences on listeners’ L2 comprehensibility ratings. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 34, 475–505. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, J.
(2000) The phonology of English as an international language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
(2014) English as a lingua franca: The politics of academic English language policy. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Jenkins, J., Cogo, A., & Dewey, M.
(2011) Review of developments in research into English as a lingua franca. Language Teaching, 44, 281–315. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jesney, K.
(2004) The use of global foreign accent rating in studies of L2 acquisition. Calgary, AB, Canada: University of Calgary Language Research Centre Reports.Google Scholar
Jun, H.G., & Li, J.
(2010) Factors in raters’ perceptions of comprehensibility and accentedness. In J. Levis & K. LeVelle (Eds.), Proceedings of the 1st pronunciation in second language learning and teaching conference, Iowa State University, Sept 2009 (pp. 53–66), Ames, IA: Iowa State University.Google Scholar
Jun, S.–A.
(2005) Prosodic typology. In S.–A. Jun (Ed.), Prosodic typology: The phonology of intonation and phrasing (pp. 430–458). Oxford: Oxford University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kahng, J.
(2014) Exploring utterance and cognitive fluency of L1 and L2 English speakers: Temporal measures and stimulated recall. Language Learning, 64, 809–854. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kang, O.
(2010) Relative salience of suprasegmental features on judgments of L2 comprehensibility and accentedness. System, 38, 301–315. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2012) Impact of rater characteristics and prosodic features of speaker accentedness on ratings of international teaching assistants’ oral performance. Language Assessment Quarterly, 9(3), 249–269. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kang, O., & Rubin, D.L.
(2009) Reverse linguistic stereotyping: Measuring the effect of listener expectations on speech evaluation. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 28, 441–456. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kang, O., Rubin, D., & Pickering, L.
(2010) Supresegmental measures of accentedness and judgments of language learner proficiency in oral English. Modern Language Journal, 94, 554–566. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kormos, J., & Dénes, M.
(2004) Exploring measures and perceptions of fluency in the speech of second language learners. System, 32, 145–164. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Larson-Hall, J.
(2010) A guide to doing statistics in second language research using SPSS. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Levis, J.M.
(2005) Changing contexts and shifting paradigms in pronunciation teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 39, 369–377. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mackey, A., Gass, S., & McDonough, K.
(2000) How do learners perceive interactional feedback? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 22, 471–497. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
MacKay, I.R., Flege, J.E., & Imai, S.
(2006) Evaluating the effects of chronological age and sentence duration on degree of perceived foreign accent. Applied Psycholinguistics, 27, 157–183. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Major, R.C., Fitzmaurice, S.F., Bunta, F., & Balasubramanian, C.
(2002) The effects of nonnative accents on listening comprehension: Implications for ESL assessment. TESOL Quarterly, 36, 173–190. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
May, S.
(Ed.) (2014) The multilingual turn. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Munro, M.J.
(2008) Foreign accent and speech intelligibility. Phonology and second language acquisition, 193–218. CrossrefGoogle 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
(2006) The functional load principle in ESL pronunciation instruction: An exploratory study. System, 34, 520–531. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Munro, M.J., Derwing, T.M., & Morton, S.L.
(2006) The mutual intelligibility of L2 speech. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28, 111–131. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ortega, L.
(2013) SLA for the 21st century: Disciplinary progress, transdisciplinary relevance, and the bi/multilingual turn. Language Learning, 63(S1), 1–24. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Park, J. S-Y., & Wee, L.
(2015) English as a lingua franca: Lessons for language and mobility. In C. Stroud & M. Prinsloo (Eds.), Language, literacy and diversity: Moving words (pp. 55–71). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Pickering, L.
(2009) Intonation as a pragmatic resource in ELF interaction. Intercultural Pragmatics, 6, 235–255. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pickering, L., & Litzenberg, J.
(2011) Intonation as a pragmatic resource in ELF interaction, revisited. In A. Archibald, A. Cogo, & J. Jenkins (Eds.), Latest trends in ELF research (pp. 77–92). Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Ramus, F., Nespor, M., & Mehler, J.
(1999) Correlates of linguistic rhythm in the speech signal. Cognition, 73, 265–292. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., Trofimovich, P., & Isaacs, T.
(2015) Using listener judgments to investigate linguistic influences on L2 comprehensibility and accentedness: A validation and generalization study. Applied Linguistics. Published online 29 September 2015. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2016) Second language speech production: Investigating linguistic correlates of comprehensibility and accentedness for learners at different ability levels. Applied Psycholinguistics, 37, 217–240. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Scheuer, S.
(2005) Why native speakers are (still) relevant). In K. Dziubalska-Kolacyzuk & J. Przedlacka (Eds.), English pronunciation models: A changing scene (pp. 111–130). Frankfurt a/M: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Seidlhofer, B.
(2004) Research perspectives on teaching English as a lingua franca. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 209–239. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2011) Understanding English as a lingua franca. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, B.L., & Hayes-Harb, R.
(2011) Individual differences in the perception of final consonant voicing among native and non-native speakers of English. Journal of Phonetics, 39, 115–120. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Swan, M., & Smith, B.
(Eds.) (2001) Learner English: A teacher’s guide to interference (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Trofimovich, P., & Isaacs, T.
(2012) Disentangling accent from comprehensibility. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15, 905–916. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Walker, R.
(2010) Teaching the pronunciation of English as a lingua franca. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Winke, P.
(2013) Rating oral language. In C.A. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics (pp. 1–7). Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.Google Scholar
Winke, P., & Gass, S.
(2013) The influence of L2 experience and accent familiarity on oral proficiency rating: A qualitative investigation. TESOL Quarterly, 47, 762–789. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Xie, X., & Fowler, C.A.
(2013) Listening with a foreign-accent: The interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit in Mandarin speakers of English. Journal of Phonetics, 41, 369–378. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 12 other publications

Crowther, Dustin
2020. Rating L2 speaker comprehensibility on monologic vs. interactive tasks. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 6:1 ► pp. 96 ff. Crossref logo
Crowther, Dustin, Pavel Trofimovich, Kazuya Saito & Talia Isaacs
2018. LINGUISTIC DIMENSIONS OF L2 ACCENTEDNESS AND COMPREHENSIBILITY VARY ACROSS SPEAKING TASKS. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 40:2 ► pp. 443 ff. Crossref logo
Derwing, Tracey M. & Ronald I. Thomson
2019. Reflections on the Development of L2 Pronunciation Research in Canada. The Canadian Modern Language Review 75:4 ► pp. 329 ff. Crossref logo
Huensch, Amanda & Charlie Nagle
2021. The Effect of Speaker Proficiency on Intelligibility, Comprehensibility, and Accentedness in L2 Spanish: A Conceptual Replication and Extension of Munro and Derwing (1995a). Language Learning Crossref logo
Levis, John M.
2017. Evidence-based pronunciation teaching. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 3:1 ► pp. 1 ff. Crossref logo
Lima, Edna F.
2016. Comprehensibility and liveliness in nonnative student oral presentations before and after training: A mixed methods study. System 63 ► pp. 121 ff. Crossref logo
Nagle, Charles L. & Amanda Huensch
2020. Expanding the scope of L2 intelligibility research. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 6:3 ► pp. 329 ff. Crossref logo
Saito, Kazuya & Yuwei Liu
2021. Roles of collocation in L2 oral proficiency revisited: Different tasks, L1 vs. L2 raters, and cross-sectional vs. longitudinal analyses. Second Language Research ► pp. 026765832098805 ff. Crossref logo
Saito, Kazuya, Mai Tran, Yui Suzukida, Hui Sun, Viktoria Magne & Meltem Ilkan
2019. HOW DO SECOND LANGUAGE LISTENERS PERCEIVE THE COMPREHENSIBILITY OF FOREIGN-ACCENTED SPEECH?. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41:5 ► pp. 1133 ff. Crossref logo
Strachan, Lauren, Sara Kennedy & Pavel Trofimovich
2019. Second language speakers’ awareness of their own comprehensibility. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 5:3 ► pp. 347 ff. Crossref logo
Taylor Reid, Kym, Mary Grantham O’Brien, Pavel Trofimovich & Allison Bajt
2020. Testing the malleability of teachers’ judgments of second language speech. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation Crossref logo
Trofimovich, Pavel, Sara Kennedy & Josée Blanchet
2017. Development of Second Language French Oral Skills in an Instructed Setting: A Focus on Speech Ratings. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics 20:2 ► pp. 32 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 16 april 2021. 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.