Abstract
Casual speech processes, such as /t/-reduction, make word recognition harder. Additionally, word recognition is also harder in a second language (L2). Combining these challenges, we investigated whether L2 learners have recourse to knowledge from their native language (L1) when dealing with casual speech processes in their L2. In three experiments, production and perception of /t/-reduction was investigated. An initial production experiment showed that /t/-reduction occurred in both languages and patterned similarly in proper nouns but differed when /t/ was a verbal inflection. Two perception experiments compared the performance of German learners of Dutch with that of native speakers for nouns and verbs. Mirroring the production patterns, German learners’ performance strongly resembled that of native Dutch listeners when the reduced /t/ was part of a word stem, but deviated where /t/ was a verbal inflection. These results suggest that a casual speech process in a second language is problematic for learners when the process is not known from the leaner’s native language, similar to what has been observed for phoneme contrasts.
Highlights
Casual speech processes, such as /t/-reduction, make word recognition harder
THE ROLE OF NATIVE-LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE IN THE PERCEPTION OF CASUAL SPEECH IN A SECOND LANGUAGE Speech perception studies are often performed under ideal circumstances, with participants listening to their native language in a sound-proof booth
Even though they tend to perform less categorically and, as a consequence, give more /t/-responses when there is little evidence for a /t/, they do not show a pattern of less reliance on phonological cues and more reliance on lexical cues. They even are more strongly influenced by phonological context than the Dutch listeners. This indicates that the German listeners are generally well able to deal with /t/-reduction in their second language Dutch
Summary
Casual speech processes, such as /t/-reduction, make word recognition harder. word recognition is harder in a second language (L2). German learners’ performance strongly resembled that of native Dutch listeners when the reduced /t/ was part of a word stem, but deviated where /t/ was a verbal inflection These results suggest that a casual speech process in a second language is problematic for learners when the process is not known from the leaner’s native language, similar to what has been observed for phoneme contrasts. Research in psycholinguistics has shown that the recognition of any word entails activation of multiple word candidates which compete for recognition: For example, when listeners hear the word captain, the word captain is activated, and words such as cap and capitol are temporarily activated (Davis et al, 2002) During this process, difficult L2 contrasts create additional competitors for non-native listeners. Non-native listeners do require a better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the recognition of speech in noise, they need larger changes in the SNR to recover (i.e., their psychometric functions of recognition rate over noise levels are shallower than those of native listeners, see Van Wijngaarden et al, 2002)
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