Perception of post-focus compression as a cue to focus in L2 English

Abstract

English and Mandarin both mark focus with post-focus compression (PFC) of F0 and intensity. Previous production research indicates PFC may be a universally marked feature difficult to transfer between languages, but the generally narrower pitch range and lack of fluency indicative of nonnative speech impede the ability to conclude the marked status of PFC based on production data alone. The present study utilized accuracy scores on a forced-choice prosodic restoration perception task to identify whether nonnative learners of a PFC language (English) with a native PFC language L1 (Mandarin) are capable of perceiving PFC as a cue to focus when no other focus cues are available. The role of L2 proficiency in the ability to use PFC as a cue to focus was also examined. Results indicate that native Mandarin listeners had significantly poorer accuracy compared to native English listeners at using PFC as a cue to focus in English regardless of proficiency, thus supporting PFC’s role as a marked feature not easily transferred into an L2, but some Mandarin listeners’ above chance performance on the task indicate it is not impossible to perceive PFC as a cue to focus in an L2 context.