Abstract
In this paper, we introduce the concept of “phonetic compliance,” which is defined as the intrinsic individual ability to produce speech sounds that are unusual in the native language, and constitutes a part of the ability to acquire L2 phonetics and phonology. We argue that phonetic compliance represents a systematic source of variance that needs to be accounted for if one wants to improve the control over the independent variables manipulated in SLA experimental studies. We then present the results of a two-fold proof-of-concept study aimed at testing the feasibility of assessing phonetic compliance in terms of gradient. In study 1, a pilot data collection paradigm is implemented on an occasional sample of 10 native French speakers engaged in two reproduction tasks involving respectively vowels and aspirated stops, and data are analyzed using descriptive statistics. In study 2, complementary data including L1-typical realizations are collected, resulting in the development of a first set of indicators that may be useful to appropriately assess, and further refine the concept of, phonetic compliance. Based on a critical analysis of the contributions and limitations of the proof-of-concept study, general discussion formulates the guidelines for the following stages of development of a reliable and valid test of phonetic compliance.
Highlights
This paper reports on a proof-of-concept study aimed at testing the feasibility of assessing “phonetic compliance,” i.e., the intrinsic speaker-specific ability to appropriately mobilize speech perception and production processes in order to produce, in a controlled way, speech sounds that are unusual in his/her mother tongue
We argue that a significant part of the interindividual variation commonly reported in experimental studies on L2 sound learning is due to an unaccounted-for systematic source of variance which is related with individual phonetic skills, and deserves to be independently considered
We report the results of a two-fold proof-of-concept study in which we tested the feasibility of assessing phonetic compliance on a sample of 10 French speakers engaged in the asfaithful-as-possible reproduction of unfamiliar vowels and consonants
Summary
This paper reports on a proof-of-concept study aimed at testing the feasibility of assessing “phonetic compliance,” i.e., the intrinsic speaker-specific ability to appropriately mobilize speech perception and production processes in order to produce, in a controlled way, speech sounds that are unusual in his/her mother tongue.In a first section, we argue that a significant part of the interindividual variation commonly reported in experimental studies on L2 sound learning is due to an unaccounted-for systematic source of variance which is related with individual phonetic skills, and deserves to be independently considered. Pimsleur (1966) developed an alternative test (The Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery; PLAB) that placed more emphasis on auditory factors and less on memory (Dörnyei and Skehan, 2003). These two tests are the ones most commonly used in aptitude research, even if they have been largely criticized over the years because they do not encompass the full range of learner-, task-, and context-related factors that are likely to exert influence on the measurements (Parry and Stansfield, 1990)
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