The interplay of prosodic cues in the L2: How intonation, rhythm, and speech rate in speech by Spanish learners of Dutch contribute to L1 Dutch perceptions of accentedness and comprehensibility

Abstract

This study investigates the relative contribution of L2 intonation, rhythm, and speech rate to L1 perceptions of accentedness and comprehensibility. The intonation, rhythm, and speech rate of an L1 speaker of Dutch was transferred onto the segmental string of four Spanish learners of Dutch, resulting in eight conditions that reflect all possible combinations of these prosodic cues. Our results show that improving the prosody of L2 speakers positively affects L1 perceptions of L2 speech, but not to the same extent for both measures: Concerning accentedness, Dutch listeners were influenced by intonation and speech rate transfer, but not by rhythm transfer. No interactions were found between prosodic cues. Comprehensibility ratings were also affected by intonation and speech rate, but for this measure, the effects were mediated by interactions between the prosodic features. Our study reaffirms the importance of differentiating between different aspects of perception and provides insight into those features that are most likely to affect each L1 perception type.