scholarly journals A Psycholinguistic Perspective on Development of Phonetic Category Formation in Bilingual Children

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Ann S. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Phonetic Category ◽  
Category Formation

scholarly journals Phonetic Category Formation is Perceptually Driven During the Early Stages of Adult L2 Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 550-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph V. Casillas
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Phonetic Category ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Additive Mixed Models ◽  
Category Formation ◽  
Generalized Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
L1 Use

Research on the acquisition of L2 phonology in sequential language learners has stressed the importance of language use and input as a means to accurate production and perception; however, the two constructs are difficult to evaluate and control. This study focuses on the role of language use during the initial stages of development of phonetic categories related to stop voicing and analyzes the relationship between production and perception. Native English-speaking late learners of Spanish provided production/perception data on a weekly basis throughout the course of a seven-week immersion program in which L1 use was prohibited. The production/perception data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed effects models. Generalized additive mixed models were used to analyze and compare the learning trajectories of each modality. The analyses revealed phonetic learning in both production and perception over the course of the program. Perception gains paralleled those of native bilinguals by the conclusion of the program and preceded production gains. This study is novel in that it provides production/perception data in a semi-longitudinal design. Moreover, the beginning adult learners are examined in a learning context in which L1 use was minimal and L2 input was maximized. Taken together, the experiments suggest that L2 phonetic category formation can occur abruptly, at an early stage of development, is perceptually driven, and appears to be particularly fragile during the initial stages of learning.

scholarly journals Phonetic category formation is perceptually driven during the early stages of adult L2 development

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph V Casillas
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Phonetic Category ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Additive Mixed Models ◽  
Category Formation ◽  
Generalized Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
L1 Use

Research on the acquisition of L2 phonology in sequential language learners has stressed the importance of language use and input as a means to accurate production and perception; however, the two constructs are difficult to evaluate and control. This study focuses on the role of language use during the initial stages of development of phonetic categories related to stop voicing and analyzes the relationship between production and perception. Native English speaking late learners of Spanish provided production/perception data on a weekly basis throughout the course of a 7-week immersion program in which L1 use was prohibited. The production/perception data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed effects models. Generalized additive mixed models were used to analyze and compare the learning trajectories of each modality. The analyses revealed phonetic learning in both production and perception over the course of the program. Perception gains paralleled those of native bilinguals by the conclusion of the program and preceded production gains. This study is novel in that it provides production/perception data in a semi-longitudinal design. Moreover, the beginning adult learners are examined in a learning context in which L1 use was minimal and L2 input was maximized. Taken together, the experiments suggest that L2 phonetic category formation can occur abruptly, at an early stage of development, is perceptually driven, and appears to be particularly fragile during the initial stages of learning.

Phonetic equivalence in the acquisition of /l/ by Spanish–English bilingual children

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
JESSICA A. BARLOW ◽  
PAIGE E. BRANSON ◽  
IGNATIUS S. B. NIP
Keyword(s):  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Phonetic Category ◽  
Contextual Variation ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
English Monolingual

Spanish [l] is characterized as clear, and is associated with a high second formant (F2) frequency and a large difference between F2 and the first formant (F1) frequencies. In contrast, English [l] is darker (with a lower F2 and a relatively smaller F2–F1 difference) and also exhibits contextual variation due to an allophonic velarization rule that further darkens [l] postvocalically. We aimed to determine if Spanish–English bilingual children evidence these differences productively, in a manner comparable to that of monolinguals, or if they produce an [l] that is intermediate to that of Spanish and English monolinguals. We acoustically analyzed [l] productions of seven Spanish–English bilingual, seven Spanish monolingual, and seven English monolingual children. Results showed that the bilinguals had similar prevocalic F2 and F2–F1 values for [l] in both languages, comparable to those of Spanish monolinguals, but significantly higher than those of English monolinguals. The bilinguals also produced English (but not Spanish) [l] with significantly lower postvocalic F2 and F2–F1 values. We assume that the bilinguals have a merged phonetic category for prevocalic [l] but not postvocalic [l], and further, that they maintain separate grammars, allowing the allophonic velarization rule to apply in English but not Spanish.

Intonational convergence in language contact: Utterance-final F0 contours in Catalan–Spanish early bilinguals

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miquel Simonet
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Phonetic Category ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Pitch Contours ◽  
Category Formation ◽  
Contact Situation ◽  
Pitch Accents

This study investigates utterance-final pitch accents in declaratives in two contact languages (Catalan and Spanish) as produced by two groups of Catalan–Spanish bilinguals (Catalan-dominant and Spanish-dominant). It contributes to a growing body of research showing that bilinguals transfer the intonational patterns of their native language to their non-native language, and it provides a sociolinguistic profile of an intonational variable in a language contact situation. We also examine the interaction of native and non-native patterns within the performance of the bilinguals. Evidence is presented for the existence of a process of phonetic category assimilation of non-native pitch contrasts to native pitch contours, as well as for phonetic new-category formation in second language learning.

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