Abstract
One challenge for the second language (L2) learner of English is to master a novel phonetic implementation of the voicing contrast, whereas another challenge is to learn how consonant sequences behave in connected speech. Learners of English coming from three different language backgrounds were tested; their native varieties were Bohemian Czech, Moravian Czech, and Slovak. The Moravian variety of Czech is more similar in voicing assimilation to the Slovak language than to the Bohemian variety of Czech. Percentage of phonetic voicing was measured in the L2 (i.e. English) word-final obstruents preceding three classes of sounds: voiceless and voiced obstruents, and sonorants. Bohemian and Moravian speakers exhibited different strategies in pre-sonorant contexts, following their native (variety-specific) assimilation rules.
Highlights
As a prime example of a phonological process with clear phonetic grounding, assimilation is a frequent pattern recurring in many languages (Gordon, 2016: Chapter 5)
We investigate whether Bohemian and Moravian speakers exhibit variety-specific voicing assimilation patterns in L2 English
The “new” dataset involves speakers of Moravian Czech L2 English (MorCZ), whereas the “previous” dataset was based on speakers of Bohemian Czech L2 English (BohCZ) and Slovak L2 English (SK), in addition to a control British English (BrE) L1 group not considered here
Summary
As a prime example of a phonological process with clear phonetic grounding, assimilation is a frequent pattern recurring in many languages (Gordon, 2016: Chapter 5). The place of articulation of the nasal consonant in the Spanish indefinite article “un” is pronounced differently when preceding labial, dental, alveolar or velar consonants ([umbaso] “a glass”, [unˈdeðo ] “a finger”, [unlaɣo ] “a lake”, [uŋɡato] “a cat”). In this case, the assimilation occurs online between words in connected speech, but it can be lexicalized, as in the English prefixed word “impolite” /ˌɪmpəlaɪ͡ t/. Sounds can even undergo complete assimilation, i.e., modification of all their features, creating articulatory geminates
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