Variation in Non-native Speech: How Far Do Non-native Speakers Replicate Target Constraints on Variation? A Novel Approach

Abstract

This paper introduces a new framework to analyze how non-native speakers adhere to native-speaker norms of variation in contact settings. The author focuses on a well-established phonological variable in both native and contact-induced varieties of English: consonant cluster reduction. This process involves either dropping or maintaining a final coronal stop (t,d) in a consonant cluster in words such as "mind" and "west." The paper uses standard variationist methodologies to establish the constraints on consonant cluster reduction in a native-speaker group (Wellingtonian English) and a non-native speaker sample (Arab migrants to Wellington). The study then compares these constraints, identifying any changes introduced by non-native speakers. The results show that the non-native group is highly attuned to dialect-specific aspects of variation and demonstrates a deletion rate close to native speakers. Additionally, they exhibit a strong transfer of target articulatory constraints related to consonant cluster reduction and acquire the social cues associated with this variation. Interestingly, these patterns of variation in non-native speech are consistent across similar non-native groups, irrespective of first language, proficiency in English, and the complexity of the target constraints on variation.