Cover not available
Part of
Variation in Second and Heritage Languages: Crosslinguistic perspectives
Edited by Robert Bayley, Dennis R. Preston and Xiaoshi Li
[Studies in Language Variation 28] 2022
► pp. 127–158

Chapter 6
Spanish rhotic variation and development in uninstructed immersion

ORCID logo | University of Wyoming
ORCID logo | University of Mississippi
Perhaps due to the salient differences between English and Spanish rhotics, there has been a robust discussion regarding the acquisition of Spanish taps and trills by first language (L1) English speakers. Previous studies that have explored rhotic development have suggested that while there is a significant increase in accuracy of producing taps and trills as Spanish proficiency level increases (Face 2006; Olsen 2012), even advanced learners or learners with intense exposure to the language still face difficulty in producing the trill (Major 1986; Reeder 1998). Despite the contributions of previous studies, it remains unclear how learners develop the tap and trill in real time (as opposed to apparent time), to what extent the two rhotic sounds develop differently, and the role of additional linguistic and extralinguistic factors apart from phonological context and exposure. This study contributes to the discussion of Spanish rhotic development by tracking uninstructed L1 English learners in an Ecuadorian immersion setting for one year, providing an analysis of development in real time. By applying variationist methodology using the mixed-effects model Rbrul (Johnson 2009), we explore the role of phonological context, lexical stress, word class, cognate status, target word syllables, proficiency, exposure, speech style, and individual differences in the development of native-like taps and trills. We find that phonological context, word class, exposure, and speech style significantly condition tap production, while there are no significant predictors found for trill production. Furthermore, we see that target tap production accuracy grows throughout the year-long stay abroad, but target trill production shows no improvement.
Keywords: rhotics, Spanish tap acquisition, Spanish trill acquisition, sociolinguistic approaches, uninstructed immersion
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Background
    • The rhotic systems of English and Spanish
    • Empirical studies on L2 rhotic development
      • How rhotics develop over time: Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies
      • Factors influencing rhotic development: Variationist studies
    • Contributions and research questions
  • Methods
    • Participants
    • Setting
    • Instruments
      • Versant oral proficiency test
      • Background questionnaire
      • Reading task
      • Sociolinguistic interview
    • Analysis
      • Rhotic extraction and classification
      • Statistical analysis
  • Results
    • General rhotic results
    • Target tap results
    • Target trill results
  • Discussion
    • Tap analysis
    • Trill analysis
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 14 July 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/silv.28.06esc
References (52)
References
Adamson, H. D. & Ceil Kovac. 1981. Variation theory and second language acquisition. In David Sankoff & Henrietta Cedergren (eds.), Variation omnibus, 285–293. Edmonton, Alberta: Linguistic Research.Google Scholar
Adamson, H. D. & Vera Regan. 1991. The acquisition of community speech norms by Asian immigrants learning English as a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 13. 1–22. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Amengual, Mark. 2016. Acoustic correlates of the Spanish tap-trill Contrast: Heritage and L2 Spanish speakers. Heritage Language Journal 13(2). 88–112. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bayley, Robert. 1996. Competing constraints on variation in the speech of adult Chinese learners of English. In Robert Bayley & Dennis R. Preston (eds.), Second language acquisition and linguistic variation, 97–120. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2007. Second language acquisition: A variationist perspective. In Robert Bayley & Ceil Lucas (eds.), Sociolinguistic variation: Theories, methods, and applications, 133–144. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2013. The quantitative paradigm. In J. K. Chambers & Natalie Schilling (Eds.), The handbook of language variation and change, 2nd ed., 85–107. Oxford: Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Boersma, Paul & David Weenink. 2019. Praat: Doing phonetics by computer, Version 6.1.05 [Computer program]. Retrieved 10 September 2019 from [URL]Google Scholar
Cassano, Paul Vincent. 1977. Problems in language borrowing and lending exemplified by American Spanish phonology. Orbis 36. 149–163.Google Scholar
Corder, S. Pit. 1981. Error analysis in interlanguage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dickerson, Lonna J. 1974. Internal and external patterning of phonological variability in the speech of Japanese learners of English: Toward a theory of second language acquisition. Urbana-Champaign: University of Illinois dissertation.Google Scholar
1975. The learner’s interlanguage as system of variable rules. TESOL Quarterly 9. 401–407. [URL]. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ellis, Rod. 1985. Sources of variability in interlanguage. Applied Linguistics 6(2). 118–131. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 1987. Interlanguage variability in narrative discourse: Style shifting in the use of past tense. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 9. 1–20. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Face, Timothy L. 2006. Intervocalic rhotic pronunciation in adult learners of Spanish as a second language. In Carol Klee & Timothy Face (eds.), Selected proceedings of the Seventh Conference on the Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese as First and Second Languages, 47–58. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.Google Scholar
2018. Ultimate attainment of Spanish rhotics by native English-speaking immigrants to Spain. Lengua y migración/Language and Migration 10(2). 57–80.Google Scholar
Flege, James E. 1995. Second language speech learning: Theory, findings and problems. In Winifred Strange (ed.), Speech perception and linguistic experience: Issues in cross language research, 233–272. Timonium, MD: York Press.Google Scholar
Goldstein, Brian. 2000. Cultural and linguistic diversity resource guide for speech-language pathology. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group.Google Scholar
Gorman, Kyle & Daniel Ezra Johnson. 2013. Quantitative analysis. In Robert Bayley, Richard Cameron & Ceil Lucas (eds.), The Oxford handbook of sociolinguistics, 214–240. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hualde, José Ignacio. 2005. The sounds of Spanish. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hurtado, Luz M. & Chelsea Estrada. 2010. Factors influencing the second language acquisition of Spanish vibrants. Modern Language Journal 94. 74–86. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jiménez, Beatrice. 1987. Acquisition of Spanish consonants in children aged 3–5 years, 7 months. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools 18(4). 357–363. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Daniel Ezra. 2009. Getting off the Goldvarb standard: Introducing Rbrul for mixed effects variable rule analysis. Language and Linguistics Compass 3. 359–383. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, Kristen M. 2012. What we don’t learn in the classroom: The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence during study abroad. Davis, CA: University of California dissertation.Google Scholar
Labov, William. 1984. Field methods of the Project on Linguistic Change and Variation. In John Baugh & Joel Sherzer (eds.), Language in use: Readings in sociolinguistics, 28–53. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Ladefoged, Peter & Ian Maddieson. 1996. The sounds of the world’s languages. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Levelt, Willem J. M. 1989. Speaking: From intention to articulation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Lope Blanch, Juan M. 1975. Un caso de posible influencia maya en el español mexicano. Nueva revista de Filología hispánica 24(1). 89–100. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Major, Roy C. 1986. The ontogeny model: Evidence from L2 acquisition of Spanish r. Language Learning 36. 453–504. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1987. A model for interlanguage phonology. In Georgette L. Ioup & Steven L. Weinberger (ed.), Interlanguage phonology, 101–124. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
2001. Foreign accent: The ontogeny and phylogeny of second language phonology. Milton Park, UK: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2004. Gender and stylistic variation in second language phonology. Language Variation and Change 16. 164–188. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Morgan, Terrell A. 2010. Sonidos en contexto: Una introducción a la fonética del español con especial referencia a la vida real. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Mougeon, Raymond, Katherine Rehner & Terry Nadasdi. 2004. The learning of spoken French variation by immersion students from Toronto, Ontario. Journal of Sociolinguistics 8(3). 408–432. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Olsen, Michael K. 2012. The L2 acquisition of Spanish rhotics by L1 English speakers: The effect of L1 articulatory routines and phonetic context for allophonic variation. Hispania 95. 65–82.Google Scholar
Pearson Education, Inc. 2011. Versant Spanish test: Test description and validation summary. [URL]Google Scholar
R Core Team. 2019. R: A language and environment for statistical computing [Computer program]. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. [URL].
Ramos-Pellicia, Michelle F. 2007. Lorain Puerto Rican Spanish and ‘r’ in three generations. In Jonathan Holmquist, Augusto Lorenzino, & Lotfi Sayahi (eds.), Selected proceedings of the Third Workshop on Spanish Sociolinguistics, 53–60. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.Google Scholar
Recasens, Daniel. 1991. On the production characteristics of apicoalveolar taps and trills. Journal of Phonetics 19. 267–280. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Reeder, Jeffrey T. 1998. English speakers’ acquisition of voiceless stops and trills in L2 Spanish. Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education 3. 101–118.Google Scholar
Reyes Morente, Belén. 2019. Aplicación de técnicas de corrección e intervención logopédica para la enseñanza de la articulación del fonema vibrante múltiple /r/ a estudiantes anglófonos de ELE. ReiDoCrea, Monográfico 2019. 48–59.Google Scholar
Sánchez, Rosaura. 1973. Nuestra circunstancia lingüística. In Octavio Ignacio Romano (ed.), Voices: Readings from El Grito, A Journal of Mexican American Thought 1967–1973, 420–449. Berkeley, CA: Quinto Sol Publications.Google Scholar
Sankoff, David, Sali A. Tagliamonte & Eric Smith. 2005. Goldvarb X: A multivariate analysis application [Computer Program]. Toronto and Ottawa: Department of Linguistics, University of Toronto and Department of Mathematics, University of Ottawa.Google Scholar
Solé, Maria-Josep. 2002. Aerodynamic characteristics of trills and phonological patterning. Journal of Phonetics 30. 655–688. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tagliamonte, Sali A. 2006. Analysing sociolinguistic variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tarone, Elaine. 1983. On the variability of interlanguage systems. Applied Linguistics 15. 285–295. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 1985. Variability in interlanguage use: A study of style-shifting in morphology and syntax. Language Learning 35. 373–404. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 1988. Variation in interlanguage. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Weech, Andrew M. 2009. Second language acquisition of the Spanish tap and trill in a contact learning environment. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Master’s thesis.Google Scholar
Weinreich, Uriel, William Labov & Marvin I. Herzog. 1968. Empirical foundations for a theory of language change. In Winfred P. Lehmann & Yakov Malkiel (eds.), Directions for historical linguistics, 95–188. Austin: University of Texas Press.Google Scholar
Widdison, Kirk A. 1998. Phonetic motivation in Spanish trills. Orbis: Bulletin international de documentation linguistique 40. 51–61. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Young, Richard. 1991. Variation in interlanguage morphology. New York: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Young, Richard & Robert Bayley 1996. VARBRUL analysis for second language acquisition research. In Robert Bayley & Dennis R. Preston (eds.), Second language acquisition and linguistic variation, 253–306. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

KENNEDY TERRY, KRISTEN M.
2022. At the Intersection of SLA and Sociolinguistics: The Predictive Power of Social Networks During Study Abroad. The Modern Language Journal 106:1 ► pp. 245 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 30 october 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.