Individual differences in the production and perception of the voicing contrast by native and non‐native speakers of English

2007 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 3072-3073
Author(s):  
Bruce L. Smith ◽  
Rachel Hayes‐Harb
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Voicing Contrast ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

scholarly journals Lisboa, Lisbon, and the exception

Entrepalavras ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Francisco Miguel Valada
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Assimilation Process ◽  
Phonetic Realization ◽  
L1 English

The graphemic form <Lisbon> in the title refers to an underlying [ˈlɪzbən] with a voiced heterosyllabic /zb/ cluster. Chomsky and Halle (1968, p. 150, n. 105) indicate the example Lisbon as one of the exceptions to the devoicing of obstruent clusters in English. Corresponding orthographic <sb> clusters in Portuguese obey a rule according to which a [ʒ] occurs as the phonetic realization of an underlying and unspecified for voice and place of articulation /S/ that assimilates the voicing of the following consonant [b], as in Lisboa [liʒˈboɐ]. It should be borne in mind that not only are /zb/ clusters exceptional in English but that /zb/ and /sb/ may be equally licensed (as in asbestos), while the cooccurrence of voiced and voiceless segments within a cluster is not possible in Portuguese. This paper aims at obtaining answers to the following research question: do native speakers of English experience difficulties when producing Portuguese voiced sC heterosyllabic clusters, taking into account (a) the different syllable structures of these clusters in the L1 (English) and the L2 (Portuguese), and (b) the assimilation process in Portuguese, whereby if C is voiced in sC, then /S/ = [ʒ]? The main conclusions are that assimilation seems less problematic than palatalization for native speakers of English when producing heterosyllabic word-medial Portuguese sC clusters and that individual differences may play an important role. More research is needed, with a focus on instruction and with more informants, to confirm or dismiss these conclusions.

Some aspects of repair in native and non-native speaker conversations in English

1999 ◽  
Vol 125-126 ◽  
pp. 253-275
Author(s):  
Martha Eleftheriadou ◽  
Richard Badger
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
General Preferences

Abstract The ability to carry out repairs is a key skill in spoken discourse for non-native speakers of English and has been widely studied. However, VAN HEST et al. (1997) have suggested that investigations into repair in L2 need to be more theoretically driven and less concerned with individual differences. Drawing on information from a pilot study of twenty-three conversations, lasting 185 minutes between six native and six non-native speakers, this paper argues that there is no conflict between a concern with individual differences and theory building. What is needed is a contextualised theory which is grounded in particular situations and individual differences. The paper identifies three possible areas of difficulty that may arise if a theory is not contextualised. Firstly, the paper argues that theory driven research encourages methods of data collection that we characterise as experimental and suggest that these need to be supplemented by more naturalistic forms of data collection. Secondly, the paper criticises the view that there are general preferences as to who initiates and who completes repairs and argues that a contextualised theory of repair would capture initiation/completion patterns more adequately. Finally, the paper argues that the distinction between native and non-native speakers needs to be re-examined. This is supported by the finding in the pilot study that there was little variation between native and non-native speakers in terms of these analyses.

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