Foreigner-directed Speech Research Articles

Acoustic characteristics of infant- and foreigner-directed speech with Mandarin as the target language.

The quality of speech input influences the efficiency of L1 and L2 acquisition. This study examined modifications in infant-directed speech (IDS) and foreigner-directed speech (FDS) in Standard Mandarin-a tonal language-and explored how IDS and FDS features were manifested in disyllabic words and a longer discourse. The study aimed to determine which characteristics of IDS and FDS were enhanced in comparison with adult-directed speech (ADS), and how IDS and FDS differed when measured in a common set of acoustic parameters. For words, it was found that tone-bearing vowel duration, mean and range of fundamental frequency (F0), and the lexical tone contours were enhanced in IDS and FDS relative to ADS, except for the dipping Tone 3 that exhibited an unexpected lowering in FDS, but no modification in IDS when compared with ADS. For the discourse, different aspects of temporal and F0 enhancements were emphasized in IDS and FDS: the mean F0 was higher in IDS whereas the total discourse duration was greater in FDS. These findings add to the growing literature on L1 and L2 speech input characteristics and their role in language acquisition.

Vowel acoustics of Nungon child-directed speech, adult dyadic conversation, and foreigner-directed monologues.

In many communities around the world, speech to infants (IDS) and small children (CDS) has increased mean pitch, increased pitch range, increased vowel duration, and vowel hyper-articulation when compared to speech directed to adults (ADS). Some of these IDS and CDS features are also attested in foreigner-directed speech (FDS), which has been studied for a smaller range of languages, generally major national languages, spoken by millions of people. We examined vowel acoustics in CDS, conversational ADS, and monologues directed to a foreigner (possible FDS, labeled MONO here) in the Towet dialect of the Papuan language Nungon, spoken by 300 people in a remote region in northeastern Papua New Guinea. Previous work established that Nungon CDS entails optional use of consonant alteration, special nursery vocabulary, and special morphosyntax. This study shows that Nungon CDS to children aged 2;2–3;10 lacks vowel hyper-articulation, but still displays other common prosodic traits of CDS styles around the world: increased mean pitch and pitch range. A developmental effect was also attested, in that speech to 2-year-olds contained vowels that were significantly longer than those in speech to 3-year-olds, which in turn had vowels of similar duration to those in Nungon ADS. We also found that Nungon FDS vowel triangles, measured from monologues primarily directed to a non-native speaker, were significantly larger than those of either CDS or conversational ADS, indicating vowel hyper-articulation. The Nungon pattern may align with the patterns of vowels in Norwegian IDS, CDS, and FDS, where hyper-articulation is found in FDS, but not CDS or IDS. The languages of the New Guinea area constitute 20% of the world's languages, but neither an acoustic comparison of vowels in CDS and ADS, nor an acoustic study of FDS, has previously been completed for any language of New Guinea. The function of an FDS style in a small, closed community like those of much of New Guinea may differ from that in larger societies, since there are very few non-native speakers of Nungon. Thus, this study uses monologues recorded with a foreign researcher as interlocutor to study Nungon FDS.

The Acoustic Features and Didactic Function of Foreigner-Directed Speech: A Scoping Review

Purpose: This scoping review considers the acoustic features of a clear speech register directed to nonnative listeners known as foreigner-directed speech (FDS). We identify vowel hyperarticulation and low speech rate as the most representative acoustic features of FDS; other features, including wide pitch range and high intensity, are still under debate. We also discuss factors that may influence the outcomes and characteristics of FDS. We start by examining accommodation theories, outlining the reasons why FDS is likely to serve a didactic function by helping listeners acquire a second language (L2). We examine how this speech register adapts to listeners' identities and linguistic needs, suggesting that FDS also takes listeners' L2 proficiency into account. To confirm the didactic function of FDS, we compare it to other clear speech registers, specifically infant-directed speech and Lombard speech. Conclusions: Our review reveals that research has not yet established whether FDS succeeds as a didactic tool that supports L2 acquisition. Moreover, a complex set of factors determines specific realizations of FDS, which need further exploration. We conclude by summarizing open questions and indicating directions and recommendations for future research.

Second Language Learners' Listener Impressions of Foreigner-Directed Speech.

Background According to sociolinguistic frameworks such as Communication Accommodation Theory, English native speakers modify their speech to meet the communicative needs of non-native speakers (Beebe & Giles, 1984). However, when foreigner-directed speech is used inappropriately, it may lead to overaccommodation, which in turn can act counterproductively toward communicative goals. Purpose To date, much of the research on foreigner-directed speech toward non-native speakers has focused on its acoustic parameters, but few studies have examined how second language learners interpret it emotionally and pragmatically. Method This study asked 36 English second language learners to listen to four types of speech accommodation styles (casual, clear, infant-directed, and foreigner-directed) spoken by four different speakers. Their task was to evaluate the extent to which the speaker was easy to understand, competent, condescending, friendly, and respectful. Results Acoustic analyses of the speech stimuli showed that speakers used distinct acoustic cues for each speech accommodation style, for example, slower speech rate for foreigner-directed speech. The rating results show that second language learners of English judged casual speech as least intelligible, least competent, and least friendly compared to all other speech types. Respectfulness ratings show that participants perceived casual speech as less respectful compared to clear speech and infant-directed speech, but not foreigner-directed speech. However, no effects were found for condescension. Conclusion The results suggest second language learners in the current experiment generally perceived speech accommodation positively.

Interviewer effects on the phonetic reduction of negative tags, innit?

This paper investigates interviewer effects on speakers' use of full, reduced or coalesced variants of negative tags, e.g. it's a nice day, isn't it/int it/innit? Using a corpus of North East English containing interviews with a range of participants and interviewers, I examine whether speakers use more phonetically-reduced variants when interviewed by someone who is more familiar to them and speaks a variety of English more similar to their own. Quantitative variationist analysis reveals that these interviewer effects do have an impact on the variation and apply in addition to linguistic and social constraints. When speakers use more full variants, this is characteristic of either a more careful speech style or, in some contexts, so-called “foreigner-directed speech”, both of which typically have less lenition and contraction than the vernacular. The findings of this study emphasise that through proper consideration of the effects that interviewers have on the data they collect, we can gain a more comprehensive, reliable interpretation of linguistic variation.

Listener-adapted speech

Abstract While a significant amount of research has focussed on whether bilingualism bestows advantages in cognitive skills, perspective-taking and Theory of Mind, less is known about the effect of bilingualism in communicative tasks where these and related skills may be called for. This study examines bilingual and monolingual adults’ communicative skills through their production of two types of listener-adapted speech (LAS): child-directed speech and foreigner-directed speech. 20 monolinguals and 20 bilingual adults were asked to explain a cooking recipe to a child, a non-native adult and a control native adult. Participants adapted their speech for the child and the foreigner compared to the native adult. Furthermore, bilinguals adapted some features of their speech to a greater extent and in a fine-tuned way (wider pitch range addressing the child and vowel hyperarticulation addressing the foreigner). The prevalence of these features in bilingual speech was not correlated with personality or cognitive measures. We discuss possible sources of this difference in speech adaptation and implications for theories of bilingual cognition.

Lexical age of acquisition effects on native and non-native speech perception

Lexical difficulty has been shown to play a role in both speech production and perception. The relative difficulty of a word can be determined based on lexicon properties such as usage frequency, neighborhood density, or lexical Age of Acquisition (AoA). These factors have been shown to predict a range of different acoustic modifications such as hyperarticulation and increased duration. The current study investigates the effect of AoA-conditioned phonetic variation in both plain and foreigner-directed speech conditions on both native and non-native English speech perception. 60 total subjects completed a lexical decision task. Investigating these two populations allows for an examination of the role of lexical difficulty in language acquisition. The data show that lexical AoA influences the accuracy of lexical decision responses. Specifically, native speakers were more accurate in their identification of words with a low AoA rating compared to a high AoA rating (i.e. more lexically difficult items). Interactions between AoA and speech condition were also observed. The findings of this study suggest acoustic modifications can serve, at least in part, to facilitate the perception of lexically difficult words.

Characterising F(0) contour shape in infant- and foreigner-directed speech

Previous research has used both natural and simulated interactions to investigate the functions of infant-directed speech (IDS), but the effect of these approaches on the results of such studies is unclear. The aim of this study was to compare F(0) contours of natural and simulated speech directed to three distinct speech recipient groups to investigate the effects of different methodologies on research findings. F(0) contours were derived from IDS, foreign-directed speech (FDS) and speech directed to a native adult speaker (ADS). The speech was produced by ten students and ten actresses in simulated ‘interactions’ with an imaginary speech partner and compared to an existing dataset of natural mother–infant interactions. The F(0) contours were analysed with a qualitative and a quantitative method. In the existing natural dataset, IDS F(0) contours (mainly sinusoidal–bell shapes) had been markedly different from FDS and ADS F(0) contours (mainly level shapes). However, these results were not reproducible in the simulated interactions with either students or actresses. Here, the different shapes were more evenly distributed across IDS, FDS and ADS with no difference between these three groups. Consequently, it is suggested that simulated speech should be used with caution in IDS or any other speech research.

Speaking of the past

In rudimentary communication with foreigners, the most basic need is to express wishes and to give orders. Accordingly, verbal forms in foreigner-directed speech and pidgins often derive etymologically from imperatives or infinitives in the lexifier language. In more developed communication the need arises to refer to past events. In this paper, the development of past time reference from foreigner-directed speech to pidgin is investigated on the basis of data from Arabic-based pidgins, notably from Pidgin Madam, Gulf Pidgin Arabic, and Juba Arabic. These data are compared with the development of past tense reference in foreigner talk registers and pidgins based on other languages.

Hyperarticulation of vowels enhances phonetic change responses in both native and non-native speakers of English: Evidence from an auditory event-related potential study

The finding that hyperarticulation of vowel sounds occurs in certain speech registers (e.g., infant- and foreigner-directed speech) suggests that hyperarticulation may have a didactic function in facilitating acquisition of new phonetic categories in language learners. This event-related potential study tested whether hyperarticulation of vowels elicits larger phonetic change responses, as indexed by the mismatch negativity (MMN) component of the auditory event-related potential (ERP) and tested native and non-native speakers of English. Data from 11 native English-speaking and 10 native Greek-speaking participants showed that Greek speakers in general had smaller MMNs compared to English speakers, confirming previous studies demonstrating sensitivity of the MMN to language background. In terms of the effect of hyperarticulation, hyperarticulated stimuli elicited larger MMNs for both language groups, suggesting vowel space expansion does elicit larger pre-attentive phonetic change responses. Interestingly Greek native speakers showed some P3a activity that was not present in the English native speakers, raising the possibility that additional attentional switch mechanisms are activated in non-native speakers compared to native speakers. These results give general support for models of speech learning such as Kuhl's Native Language Magnet enhanced (NLM-e) theory.

Interaction of intrinsic vowel and consonant durational correlates with foreigner directed speech

Foreigner-directed and Lombard speech are two examples of speech modes that have increased intelligibility compared to normal speech. Investigating the interactions between altered speech modes and phonological contrasts may throw light on the question of which details are vital in intelligibility enhancement. The present study compares the production of vowel shortening in English, a duration-based voicing correlate, realized in a listener-directed speech style (foreigner-directed speech) with native adult-directed speech and another listener-directed speech mode (Lombard speech). British speakers completed a communicative task in cooperation with an adult native speaker or adult foreigner, in quiet and in noisy conditions. Speaker productions were analyzed to examine the changes in the duration of the target vowels and following plosive consonants.

“Look at the shark”: Evaluation of student- and actress-produced standardised sentences of infant- and foreigner-directed speech

Standardised sentence production is routinely used in speech research to avoid content variability typical of natural speech production. However, the validity of such standardised material is not well understood. Here, we evaluated the use of standardised sentences by comparing them to two existing, non-standardised datasets of simulated free and natural speech (the latter produced by mothers in real interactions). Standardised sentences and simulated free speech were produced by students and actresses without an interaction partner. Each dataset comprised recordings of infant- (IDS), foreigner- (FDS) and adult-directed (ADS) speech, which were analysed for mean F 0, vowel duration and hyperarticulation. Whilst students’ mean F 0 pattern in standardised speech was closer to the natural speech than their previous ‘simulated free speech’, no difference in vowel hyperarticulation and duration patterns was found for students’ standardised sentences between the three speech styles. Actresses’ F 0, vowel duration and hyperarticulation patterns in standardised speech were similar to the natural speech, and a part improvement on their ‘simulated free speech’. These results suggest that successful reproduction of some acoustic measures (e.g., F 0) can be achieved with standardised content regardless of the type of speaker, whereas the production of other acoustic measures (e.g., hyperarticulation) are context- and speaker-dependent.

Are actresses better simulators than female students? The effects of simulation on prosodic modifications of infant- and foreigner-directed speech

Previous research has used simulated interactions to investigate emotional and linguistic speech phenomena. Here, we evaluate the use of these simulated interactions by comparing speech addressed to imaginary speech partners produced by psychology students and actresses, to an existing study of natural speech addressed to genuine interaction partners. Simulated infant- (IDS), foreigner- (FDS) and adult-directed speech (ADS) was obtained from 10 female students and 10 female actresses. These samples were acoustically analysed and rated for positive vocal affect. Our results for affect for actresses and student speakers are consistent with previous findings using natural interactions, with IDS rated higher in positive affect than ADS/FDS, and ADS rated higher than FDS. In contrast to natural speech, acoustic analyses of IDS produced by student speakers revealed a smaller vowel space than ADS/FDS, with no significant difference between those adult conditions. In contrast to natural speech (IDS > ADS/FDS), the mean F 0 of IDS was significantly higher than ADS, but not than FDS. Acoustic analyses of actress speech were more similar to natural speech, with IDS vowel space significantly larger than ADS vowel space, and with the mean FDS vowel space positioned between these two conditions. IDS mean F 0 of the actress speakers was significantly higher than both ADS and FDS. These results indicate that training plays an important role in eliciting natural-like speech in simulated interactions, and that participants without training are less successful in reproducing such speech. Speech obtained from simulated interactions should therefore be used with caution, and level of experience and training of the speakers should be taken into account.

Do you speak E-NG-L-I-SH? A comparison of foreigner- and infant-directed speech

Infant-directed speech has three main roles – it attracts attention, conveys emotional affect, and conveys language-specific phonological information, and each of these roles are reflected in certain components of the speech signal – pitch, rated affect, and vowel hyperarticulation. We sought to investigate the independence of these components by comparing British English speech directed to first language English learners (infants), and second language English learners (adult foreigners), populations with similar linguistic but dissimilar affective needs. It was found that, compared with British adult-directed speech, vowels were equivalently hyperarticulated in infant- and foreigner-directed speech. On the other hand, pitch was higher in speech to infants than to foreigners or adult British controls; and positive affect was highest in infant-directed and lowest in foreigner-directed speech. These results suggest that linguistic modifications found in both infant- and foreigner-directed speech are didactically oriented, and that linguistic modifications are independent of vocal pitch and affective valence.

The Influence of Aspects of Social Identity on the Development of L2 Phonology

Over time, second language (L2) speech production changes as the learner gains more experience with the language. Factors such as interaction with native speakers of the learner’s L2 are known to play an important role. It is less clear to what extent, if at all, aspects of social identity influence the development of the L2 (Hansen Edwards 2008:372– 373). This longitudinal study examines the development of the actor Jackie Chan’s L2 (English) phonology. His speech production in two time periods 9 years apart is contrasted: in 1998, before he gained success in the English-speaking world; and in 2007, after he had released multiple Hollywood blockbusters.To check that factors such as age of acquisition were not the only reason for a lack of alignment over time towards English native-speaker norms, another context was taken from 2007, namely, an interview with a French native speaker. In foreigner-directed speech, there exists a pressure to produce more standard variants (Zuengler 1991:234). If Chan uses fewer non-standard variants with a non-native English speaker than with a native English speaker, it would imply that there is some degree of intent in his usage of non-standard forms and that his development, or lack thereof, is not only due to uncontrollable factors of second language acquisition.Two variables are examined: his production of stops in word-final codas containing a single stop and in wordfinal consonant clusters containing a stop as the final consonant. Native speakers of English generally pronounce these stops, whereas native speakers of Chinese often simplify them by deleting or glottalising them (Setter et al. 2010:15, Hansen 2001:340).In 2007, Chan is found to use a greater rate of the standard non-simplified variant than previously; however, he also simplifies his pronunciation by deleting the stop in the codas more often than in 1998. He uses standard forms that align with English native speakers to a greater extent when talking to non-native speakers. After 9 years of working in Hollywood, he would have gained more experience with English due to his social network consisting of more English native speakers, resulting in the expected increased alignment with native-speaker norms. However, his English has developed so that the non-standard variant of deletion is also used to a greater extent; the usage of this variant emphasises Chan’s identity as a Chinese native speaker. This emphasis is possible because of his success in between the two time periods: not only does he no longer have to align as much as possible with English native speakers so as to appeal to the English-speaking market, his success as a specifically Chinese martial artist means that highlighting his identity as a Chinese native speaker has more linguistic capital. Thus, it seems that factors of an L2 learner’s social identity do indeed influence the acquisition and development of their L2.

Motherese and Chinese: Evidence of acoustic changes in speech directed at infants and foreigners

Infant-directed speech (IDS) is characterized by hyperarticulation, increased pitch, and high emotional affect, which is in turn thought to reflect a linguistic and emotional role for IDS. If the linguistic role is an independent contributor of the changes in IDS, then similar hyperarticulation should also occur in foreigner-directed speech (FDS) but without positive affective changes. To test this, nine mothers were recorded talking to their infants, and British- and foreign-adult confederates. Mothers were provided with toys to elicit the target words shark, sheep, and shoe, containing the corner vowels /a/, /i/, and /u/. Speech samples were analyzed to determine mean pitch and formant 1 and 2 (F1/F2) values of target vowels. Low-pass filtered speech samples of the mother’s interactions in each condition were rated on positive and negative vocal affect by 24 independent raters. Results showed that mothers hyperarticulated their vowels (indexed by F1/F2 values) in both IDS and FDS relative to ADS. Furthermore, mean pitch was highest in IDS compared to FDS and ADS. Positive affect was highest in IDS and lowest in FDS compared to ADS. These data suggest a linguistic function for prosody modifications in FDS and IDS that is independent of affective changes.