15.227, Diss: Phonetics: Muñoz Sánchez: 'The Effect of...'

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-15-227. Thu Jan 22 2004. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 15.227, Diss: Phonetics: Muñoz Sánchez: 'The Effect of...'

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1)
Date:  Wed, 21 Jan 2004 14:09:04 -0500 (EST)
From:  amunoz at csusm.edu
Subject:  The Effect of Phonological Status on the Acquisition of New Contrasts

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Wed, 21 Jan 2004 14:09:04 -0500 (EST)
From:  amunoz at csusm.edu
Subject:  The Effect of Phonological Status on the Acquisition of New Contrasts

Institution: University of California, San Diego
Program: Linguistics Department
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2003

Author: Alicia Munoz Sánchez

Dissertation Title: The Effect of Phonological Status on the
Acquisition of New Contrasts: Evidence from Spanish and Japanese L2
Learners of English

Linguistic Field: Phonetics, Phonology, Language Acquisition

Subject Language: Japanese (code: JPN) Spanish (code: SPN)

Subject Language Family: Japanese Family,(code: JP), Romance,
(code:IEJAAA)

Dissertation Director 1: Sharon Rose
Dissertation Director 2: Eric Bakovic
Dissertation Director 3: Vic Ferreira
Dissertation Director 4: Robert Kluender

Dissertation Abstract:

This dissertation examines the effect of first language (L1)
allophonic variants on the perception and production of second
language (L2) contrasts. Some studies on L2 perception of L2 speech
have claimed that the presence of L1 allophones should help with the
discrimination of L2 contrasts. This dissertation provides evidence
from perceptual experiments that L1 allophones do not facilitate the
perceptual acquisition of L2 contrasts. In addition, the effects of L1
allophones are investigated in the production of L2 phonemes, since no
L2 production studies have directly examined this effect. It is shown
that L2 phonemes that are allophonic in L1 are difficult to learn.

The perceptual and production experiments in this dissertation test
the acquisition of English coronal contrasts by Japanese speakers and
by three groups of Spanish speakers (Northwestern Mexican Spanish,
Castilian, and Andalusian Spanish). In the perceptual experiments AXB
tasks were used to test the subjects' ability to perceptually
discriminate English coronal contrasts in words and nonsense words and
within different syllabic positions. In the production experiment,
words produced by English L2 learners were transcribed to determine
the impact of L1 allophony in the articulation of English coronal
consonants. The results from the experiments are compared with the
predictions of current L2 speech perception and production models,
suggesting that introducing the notion of allophone in these models is
important because it predicts perceptual and production difficulties
with respect to other L2 segments and their relationship in
L1. Perceptual models have argued that L2 sounds are mapped onto
different assimilation patterns depending on how perceptually close
the L2 sounds are to those in L1. Perceptual testing in these models
is necessary to determine the 'perceptual similarity' between L1 and
L2 sounds. The L1 allophone provides a way to map a pattern of
perceptual similarity without the need for perceptual testing. In
addition, the perceptual studies show that the ability to discriminate
non-native contrasts is acquired early on, that it does not change
over time and also that L2 production abilities follow perceptual
abilities. Error patterns in L2 production are determined by both L1
and the individual speaker.

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