Laryngeal contrasts in first and second language speakers of Hul’q’umi’num’

Abstract

This paper investigates laryngeal contrasts in first (L1) and second (L2) language speakers of Hul’q’umi’num’, a dialect of Halkomelem (Salish). The language, which lacks a thorough acoustic description of its consonants, is highly endangered with 50-100 native speakers, but has a growing number of L2 speakers. Since the learners come from an English background and are therefore unfamiliar with glottalized consonants, the sounds can prove challenging. This study addresses this issue by examining how L1 and L2 speakers pronounce plain and ejective stops in terms of what acoustic correlates they’re using. Tokens of words read in isolation will be analyzed from L1 and L2 speakers participating in a language course in Duncan, BC. Tokens of both speaker groups will be classified by phoneme and acoustic measures of duration (e.g., voice onset time, closure duration), centre of gravity, and vowel coarticulation (e.g., spectral tilt, F0, rise time) will be made. The results of the two groups will be compared with statistical analysis, and the findings will be used to create guidelines to assess future learners’ and teach pronunciation. The findings will also contribute to a broader understanding of how Hul’q’umi’num’ consonants fit into voicing and ejective typology.This paper investigates laryngeal contrasts in first (L1) and second (L2) language speakers of Hul’q’umi’num’, a dialect of Halkomelem (Salish). The language, which lacks a thorough acoustic description of its consonants, is highly endangered with 50-100 native speakers, but has a growing number of L2 speakers. Since the learners come from an English background and are therefore unfamiliar with glottalized consonants, the sounds can prove challenging. This study addresses this issue by examining how L1 and L2 speakers pronounce plain and ejective stops in terms of what acoustic correlates they’re using. Tokens of words read in isolation will be analyzed from L1 and L2 speakers participating in a language course in Duncan, BC. Tokens of both speaker groups will be classified by phoneme and acoustic measures of duration (e.g., voice onset time, closure duration), centre of gravity, and vowel coarticulation (e.g., spectral tilt, F0, rise time) will be made. The results of the two groups will be compared with...