Consonant lengthening for persuasiveness in L1 and L2 English

Abstract

The present study explored how persuasiveness is expressed phonetically in English and whether non‐native speakers of English are able to employ L2 phonetic cues to convey importance in L2 in a native‐like manner. An acoustic experiment compared English and Latvian speakers’ of English treatment of syllable‐onset consonant duration relative to vowels in (i) neutral and (ii) persuasive speech contexts. Duration was measured in voiceless stops and continuants and a wide variety of vowels in the stressed syllables of key words. Results revealed that in persuasive speech, native English speakers significantly increased the proportion of consonantal duration, whereas no consonant lengthening was found in Latvian L1 and L2 productions. These findings provide evidence for the paralinguistic function of consonants and the existence of language‐specific persuasion cues.