Auditory free classification of native and nonnative speech by nonnative listeners

Abstract

ABSTRACTNonnative listeners are less accurate than native listeners at identifying, categorizing, and classifying native talkers’ accents, suggesting a decrement in nonnative listeners’ representation of native variation. Nonnative listeners’ representation of nonnative variation, however, may be as robust as, or more robust than, that of native listeners. To compare native and nonnative listeners’ representations of linguistic variation, the current study examined native English, Korean, and Spanish listeners’ classification of native and nonnative talkers by native language. Overall, the listener groups performed with similar accuracy, but they exhibited different perceptual similarity spaces. Specifically, listener groups demonstrated heightened perceptual sensitivity to talkers with whom they share a native language. The results suggest that listeners’ linguistic experiences significantly shape their perceptual representation of nonnative varieties.