Assimilatory and dissimilatory L1 English vowel drift in early learners of Japanese

Abstract

In contrast to predictions of the Speech Learning Model, Chang’s (2012) study of novice English-speaking learners of Korean finds no clear segment level assimilation between phonetically similar English and Korean vowels. The relative complexity of the Korean and English vowel systems may have made L2 to L1 vowel association inconsistent across speakers, leading to contradictory segment level effects. We examined vowels in L1 English:L2 Japanese learners, hypothesizing that the less dense vowel space in Japanese would simplify L1:L2 segment associations. Specifically, English [ɑ] and Japanese [a] should be associated by learners in a way that could lead to segment level L1 drift effects, allowing us to determine whether assimilatory L1 drift would occur in English for novice learners of Japanese, as Flege (1987, 1995) and Chang predict. Formant data for students in their first and second semester of Japanese instruction show mostly L1 assimilatory drift in F1, and some L1 dissimilation in F2, with most speakers making one change but not both. Overall, English [ɑ] variants stay within L1 norms, highlighting the importance of L1 phonetic repertoire in constraining L1 drift effects. Results will be compared to data for [i] and [u] to determine whether systemic level drift also occurs.