Abstract
Due to its articulatory precision, the Spanish rhotic system is generally acquired in late childhood by monolingually-raised (L1) Spanish speakers. Heritage speakers and second language (L2) learners, unlike L1 speakers, risk an incomplete acquisition of the rhotic system due to limited Spanish input and possible phonological interference from English. In order to examine the effects of age of onset of bilingualism and cross-linguistic influence on bilinguals’ rhotic productions, twenty-four adult participants (six sequential bilingual heritage speakers, six simultaneous bilingual heritage speakers, six L1 Spanish speakers, six L2 Spanish learners) were audio recorded in a storytelling task and a picture naming task. The alveolar taps [ɾ] and alveolar trills [r] produced in these tasks were examined according to duration of the rhotic sound and number of apical occlusions. Results showed that the sequential bilinguals, but not the simultaneous bilinguals or the L2 learners, patterned similarly to the L1 Spanish speakers in their production of taps and trills. Neither heritage group produced the English alveolar approximant [ɹ]; the L2 learners, on the other hand, did produce [ɹ] when speaking Spanish. The results of this study suggest that early language input can affect the production of sounds that are acquired in late childhood.
Highlights
Monolingually-raised (L1) Spanish speakers acquire their language system “with optimal and continuous exposure to” Spanish (Benmamoun et al 2013)
Spanish input on rhotic production, the current study examined the production of the Spanish alveolar tap and trill by adult simultaneous bilingual heritage speakers, sequential bilingual heritage speakers, L1 Spanish speakers, and L2 Spanish learners
The current study examined the effects of age of onset of bilingualism and cross-linguistic influence on the production of the Spanish alveolar tap and alveolar trill by adult simultaneous bilingual heritage speakers, sequential bilingual heritage speakers, and L2 Spanish learners
Summary
Monolingually-raised (L1) Spanish speakers acquire their language system “with optimal and continuous exposure to” Spanish (Benmamoun et al 2013). For the purpose of this study, we will use the term “L1 Spanish speaker” to describe monolingually-raised L1 Spanish speakers with no exposure to English in early childhood and the term “heritage speaker” for bilingual English-Spanish speakers who acquired Spanish as their L1 and English either simultaneously or sequentially in childhood. Due to their early exposure to the two languages in childhood, bilingual heritage
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call