Phonetic Interactions Research Articles

Acoustic Analyses of L1 and L2 Vowel Interactions in Mandarin–Cantonese Late Bilinguals

While the focus of bilingual research is frequently on simultaneous or early bilingualism, the interactions between late bilinguals’ first language (L1) and second language (L2) have rarely been studied previously. To fill this research gap, the aim of the current study was to investigate the production of vowels in the L1 Mandarin and L2 Cantonese of Mandarin–Cantonese late bilinguals in Hong Kong. A production experiment was conducted with 22 Mandarin–Cantonese bilinguals, as well as with 20 native Mandarin speakers and 21 native Cantonese speakers. Acoustic analyses, including formants of and Euclidean distances between the vowels, were performed. Both vowel category assimilation and dissimilation were noted in the Mandarin–Cantonese bilinguals’ L1 and L2 vowel systems, suggesting interactions between the bilinguals’ L1 and L2 vowel categories. In general, the findings are in line with the hypotheses of the Speech Learning Model and its revised version, which state that L1–L2 phonetic interactions are inevitable, as there is a common phonetic space for storing the L1 and L2 phonetic categories, and that learners always have the ability to adapt their phonetic space. Future studies should refine the data elicitation method, increase the sample size and include more language pairs to better understand L1 and L2 phonetic interactions.

L1 vowel perceptual boundary shift as a result of L2 vowel learning

The current study investigated second language (L2) vowel learning influence on first language (L1) vowel perception. We examined how late L2-English learners’ perception of L1-Japanese vowels is influenced by learning to perceive a new L2-English vowel. The study compared L1/L2 perception task results from 60 late L1-Japanese learners of L2-English with those of monolingual Japanese (N = 21) and English speakers (N = 16). To further test hypotheses put forward in the revised Speech Learning Model (SLM-r: Flege & Bohn, 2021), that L2 input distribution is associated with L1/L2 phonetic learning, information on L2-learner participants’ L2 dominance was gathered. The results showed clear L1 perceptual drift in a subgroup of L2-learner participants who were NOT nativelike in L2 English /i-ɪ/ categorization but were L2 dominant. The results support the claim that L2 input plays an important role in reorganizing the L1 phonetic system. However, they also highlight the importance of separating L2 dominance related factors (e.g., L2 input/use) and L2 perceptual ability in investigating L1-L2 phonetic interaction.

The phonetic interaction of stress and intonation: a study of Standard Lithuanian

It is commonly accepted, that word stress in Standard Lithuanian has a complex phonetic nature. However, empirical data do not support such a view. The functional importance of acoustic parameters can only be proven relying on their “relations of relations” between stressed and unstressed syllables. To put it simply, we cannot state for sure that in all cases stressed syllables are superior in acoustical means. We can rely on intersyllabic relation of some sort only. If this is true, word stress is no more recognizable from a sintagmatic point of view. In addition, such interpretation presupposes a very complex mechanism of stress perception that is difficult to verify by experimental means. This article highlights the phonetic interaction of prosodic elements in the hope that more invariant features of acoustic stress structure can be captured from this perspective. The analyzed data show that prosodic elements selectively regulate the amount of acoustic energy, its degree of variation and dynamics. The first two are the prerogative of the phrasal intonation and the third is determined by the stress. The latter prosodic element, to put it more simply, is a factor that determines the control of acoustic energy distribution at the intersyllabic level.

The Phonetics of Tone and Voice Quality Interactions in Sylheti

This paper examines the phonetic interactions of tone and voice qualities in Sylheti. Data from six native speakers are examined to understand the voice qualities of the vowels carrying contrastive tones. The results identify three spectral measures (viz., H1*–H2*, H1*–A2*, and H1*–A3*) and one noise measure (viz., CPP) as reliable indicators of modal (or in the continuum of modal to tense) vs. breathy (or, in the continuum of breathy to lax) phonation contrasts in the vowels carrying high and low tone, respectively. Finally, a statistical model is proposed that predicts consistent phonation contrasts across the total duration of the contrastive tones.

Interaction and Interference of Languages in Bilingual Germans of the Vyatka Region of Russia

The article examines the interaction of the German and Russian languages in the speech of bilingual Germans who were born and live in a Russian-speaking environment in the Vyatka region of Russia. This task involves the study of their usage, interference (including phonetic, lexical and syntactic assimilation), as well as borrowings and code-switching. The dialects of the Russian Germans of the Vyatka region have a status of migrant and belong to a category of vanishing supraregional linguistic entities. The function of this variety of language is to provide a link between the native German language of the immigrants (L1) and Russian, their major surrounding language (L2). In addition, the German language of the Vyatka region reflects new linguistic contacts caused by multiple forced migrations during the Second World War. As a result of these mass relocations, some new processes in interaction of dialects arose, not observed in their mother colonies. The resulting variety of usage can be referred to as a German-Russian interlanguage. Before the World War II, all German dialects for more than two centuries have been confined in Russia to enclaves (or dialect islands). After mass deportations, they transformed both geographically and, for certain dialects, in terms of social composition. Taking this into account, the study of their interactions acquires greater importance for understanding similar processes associated with modern intercultural language contacts, in general. These changes in the language environment boosted linguistic interference at all levels; they also account for the tendency to bilingual behavior common both for speakers of standard and dialectal German. Our analysis of these processes is based on the interviews with bilingual Germans of the Vyatka region of Russia recorded during dialectological trips to this enclave. The study identifies and describes phonetic interactions (both segmental and supersegmental), morphological and syntactic interferences in the Russian and German speech of the Germans of this dialect island. All these processes in L1 and L2, as well as their distortion and mixing, are typical for the mechanisms governing their bilingual performance as well as the degree of its stability.

Exploring Cross-Linguistic Effects and Phonetic Interactions in the Context of Bilingualism: Introducing the Special Issue

Bilinguals who have acquired both of their languages simultaneously since birth or have learned their first language (L1) and their second language (L2) sequentially, as children or as adults, are able to produce and perceive two different sound systems [...]

Interlingual Interactions Elicit Performance Mismatches Not “Compromise” Categories in Early Bilinguals: Evidence from Meta-Analysis and Coronal Stops

Previous studies attest that some early bilinguals produce the sounds of their languages in a manner that is characterized as “compromise” with regard to monolingual speakers. The present study uses meta-analytic techniques and coronal stop data from early bilinguals in order to assess this claim. The goal was to evaluate the cumulative evidence for “compromise” voice-onset time (VOT) in the speech of early bilinguals by providing a comprehensive assessment of the literature and presenting an acoustic analysis of coronal stops from early Spanish–English bilinguals. The studies were coded for linguistic and methodological features, as well as effect sizes, and then analyzed using a cross-classified Bayesian meta-analysis. The pooled effect for “compromise” VOT was negligible (β = −0.13). The acoustic analysis of the coronal stop data showed that the early Spanish–English bilinguals often produced Spanish and English targets with mismatched features from their other language. These performance mismatches presumably occurred as a result of interlingual interactions elicited by the experimental task. Taken together, the results suggest that early bilinguals do not have “compromise” VOT, though their speech involves dynamic phonetic interactions that can surface as performance mismatches during speech production.

Shared or Separate Representations? The Spanish Palatal Nasal in Early Spanish/English Bilinguals

The purpose of this study is to examine phonetic interactions in early Spanish/English bilinguals to see if they have established a representation for the Spanish palatal nasal /ɲ/ (e.g., /kaɲon/ cañón ‘canyon’) that is separate from the similar, yet acoustically distinct English /n+j/ sequence (e.g., /kænjn̩/ ‘canyon’). Twenty heritage speakers of Spanish completed a delayed repetition task in each language, in which a set of disyllabic nonce words were produced in a carrier phrase. English critical stimuli contained an intervocalic /n+j/ sequence (e.g., /dɛnjɑ/ ‘denya’) and Spanish critical stimuli contained intervocalic /ɲ/ (e.g., /deɲja/ ‘deña’). We measured the duration and formant contours of the following vocalic portion as acoustic indices of the /ɲ/~/n+j/ distinction. The duration data and formant contour data alike show that early bilinguals distinguish between the Spanish /ɲ/ and English /n+j/ in production, indicative of the maintenance of separate representations for these similar sounds and thus a lack of interaction between systems for bilinguals in this scenario. We discuss these discrete representations in comparison to previous evidence of shared and separate representations in this population, examining a set of variables that are potentially responsible for the attested distinction.

Asymmetrical cross-language phonetic interaction

AbstractTwo acoustic studies were carried out with L1 Polish learners of English. One study examined L1 phonetic drift, comparing learners of L2 English who were undergoing intensive L2 phonetic training with quasi-monolingual Polish speakers. The other study looked at L2 acquisition, comparing learners at two different levels of proficiency. Unlike most previous studies of Polish-English bilinguals, VOT data of both voiced and voiceless consonants were analyzed. In both experiments, an asymmetry was observed by which voiced stops were more susceptible to cross-language phonetic influence (CLI) than voiceless stops. These results build on evidence of a similar asymmetry observed in a number of other L1–L2 pairings. Predictions of competing phonological models are evaluated with regard to equivalence classification and phonetic CLI. It is shown that both traditional approaches to the phonological representation of voice contrasts fail to predict the observed asymmetry. An alternative theory, which predicts the asymmetry, is discussed.

Phonetic interaction between late Japanese-English bilinguals' L1 and L2 vowels—A longitudinal study

We investigated late bilinguals' (N = 31) change in their production and perception of the L1 Japanese vowel /i/ and its phonetically associated L2 vowel /i/ and /I/ over one year. The perceptual boundaries between both English /i/-/I/ and Japanese /i/-/e/ were examined through identification tasks. Participants' production of the high front vowels was also analyzed. More than half of the participants exhibited evidence of separating English and Japanese high front vowels from each other in production. Participants who seemed to use similar F1-F2 values for these vowels still tended to separate them. The perception task results showed a perceptual boundary shift in bilinguals' L1 Japanese after one year. That is, they identified more tokens as /i/ than /e/ in /i/-/e/ continuum. This phenomenon was also observed when comparing bilinguals to Japanese monolingual controls. We argue that this change in L1 perception stems from learning a new L2 phonetic category /I/ and associating it with a similar L1 /i/. Individual differences in bilinguals' relative language use and exposure were also examined as potential factors driving changes in perception and production of Japanese/English high front vowels.

Language attitudes modulate phonetic interactions between languages in bilingual speakers in diglossic settings

Abstract Bilinguals’ attitudes toward their languages can be a major source of linguistic variability. However, the effect of attitudes on crosslinguistic phonetic interactions in bilinguals remains largely unexplored. This study investigated the possibility of such effects in Cantonese-English bilinguals in Hong Kong (n = 26). Participants produced near-homophones in each language on separate days. Formant values of Cantonese [ɐ] and English [ʌ] and degrees of diphthongization of Cantonese [o] and [ai], and English [oʊ] and [ai], were analyzed as a function of language proficiency, use, and language attitude scores drawn from a background questionnaire. Participants’ attitudes toward Cantonese were predictive of the acoustic difference between similar Cantonese and Hong Kong English (HKE) vowels: More Cantonese-oriented speakers produced greater acoustic distance between crosslinguistically similar vowels. No effects of English attitudes, proficiency, or use were found. These results demonstrate that bilinguals’ attitude toward their native language can affect the degree of phonetic similarity between the two languages they speak.

Refining representations for L2 phonology

This article discusses the implications of phonological representation for the study of L2 speech acquisition. It is argued, on the basis of empirical findings from diverse phenomena in L2 phonology, that refined representations in which ‘segments’ have internal prosodic structure offer a more insightful view of cross-linguistic phonetic interaction than traditional phonological models. These refinements may be implemented in the Onset Prominence representational environment, in which diverse structural parses affect sub-segmental phonetic properties, transitions between segments, and the formation of prosodic boundaries.

Phonetic interactions in the bilingual production of Galician and Spanish /e/ and /o/

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: This study investigates the cross-linguistic phonetic interactions in the production of closed mid vowels of Galician-Spanish bilinguals in a semi-urban area in Galicia. The research questions were: (1) Do Galician-Spanish bilinguals produce /e/ and /o/ similarly in their two languages? (2) Does language dominance influence whether these sounds are produced more like Spanish or more like Galician? (3) Do age and gender influence the bilingual production of Galician and Spanish /e/ and /o/? Design/methodology/approach: Thirty Galician-Spanish bilinguals from the western coast of Galicia completed a sociolinguistic questionnaire and two reading tasks in both Galician and Spanish. Data and analysis: 4,728 vowels were acoustically analyzed and submitted to several mixed effect statistical models. Findings/conclusions: Bilinguals in this study produce distinct phonetic categories for their four Galician mid vowels, and additionally have created new phonetic categories to accommodate their L2 (Spanish) vowels, resulting in a more crowded mid-vowel phonetic space. Originality: This is the first study to examine closed mid vowel realizations in both Spanish and Galician by bilinguals who maintain a Galician four mid-vowel contrast, and to investigate their complex L1-L2 phonetic interactions. Significance/implications: This study offers new data to examine how early bilinguals organize their phonetic system(s) through cross-linguistic assimilation and dissimilation.

Patterns of Short-Term Phonetic Interference in Bilingual Speech

Previous research indicates that alternating between a bilingual’s languages during speech production can lead to short-term increases in cross-language phonetic interaction. However, discrepancies exist between the reported L1–L2 effects in terms of direction and magnitude, and sometimes the effects are not found at all. The present study focused on L1 interference in L2, examining Voice Onset Time (VOT) of English voiceless stops produced by L1-dominant Czech-English bilinguals—interpreter trainees highly proficient in L2-English. We tested two hypotheses: (1) switching between languages induces an immediate increase in L1 interference during code-switching; and (2) due to global language co-activation, an increase in L1-to-L2 interference occurs when bilinguals interpret (translate) a message from L1 into L2 even if they do not produce L1 speech. Fourteen bilinguals uttered L2-English sentences under three conditions: L2-only, code-switching into L2, and interpreting into L2. Against expectation, the results showed that English VOT in the bilingual tasks tended to be longer and less Czech-like compared to the English-only task. This contradicts an earlier finding of L2 VOT converging temporarily towards L1 VOT values for comparable bilingual tasks performed by speakers from the same bilingual population. Participant-level inspection of our data suggests that besides language-background differences, individual language-switching strategies contribute to discrepancies between studies.

The role of code-switching and language context in bilingual phonetic transfer

The present study examines the effect of two potential catalysts for interlanguage phonetic interaction, code-switching and language mode, on the production of voice onset time (VOT) to better understand the role of (near) simultaneous dual language activation on phonetic production, as well as the nature of phonetic transfer. An oral production paradigm was carried out in which Spanish–English bilinguals produced words with initial voiceless stops as non-switched tokens, code-switched tokens in an otherwise monolingual context, and code-switched tokens in a bilingual context. Results demonstrated a degree of phonetic transfer associated with code-switching, either unidirectional or bi-directional. Specifically, English, with long lag VOT, was more susceptible to phonetic transfer than Spanish (short lag). Contrary to expectations, while the code-switching effect was present in both monolingual and bilingual mode, there was no additional transfer, or additive effect, of bilingual language mode. Differences in the effects of code-switching on English and Spanish are discussed with respect to the inherently different acceptable VOT ranges in the two languages. Furthermore, the lack of difference in VOT between the code-switched tokens in the monolingual and bilingual contexts is taken to suggest limits on phonetic transfer.

Acoustic correlates of bilingualism: Relating phonetic production to language experience and attitudes

Researchers tend to quantify degree of bilingualism according to age-related factors such as age of acquisition (Flege, et al. 1999, Yeni-Komshian, et al. 2000). However, previous research suggests that bilinguals may also show different degrees of accent and patterns of phonetic interaction between their first language (L1) and second language (L2) as a result of factors such as the quantity and quality of L2 input (Flege & Liu, 2001), amount of L1 vs. L2 use (Flege, et al. 1999), and attitude toward each language (Moyer, 2007). The goal of this study is to identify gradient properties of speech production that can be related to gradient language experience and attitudes in a bilingual population that is relatively homogeneous in terms of age-related factors. Native Cantonese-English bilinguals living in Hong Kong produced near homophones in both languages under conditions emphasizing one language or the other on different days. Acoustic phonetic variables related to phonological inventory differences between the two languages, including lexical tone/stress, syllable length, nasality, fricative manner and voicing, release of stop, voice onset time, and vowel quality and length, will be quantified and compared to results from a detailed survey of individual speakers’ experience and attitudes toward the two languages.

Bilingual language switching and selection at the phonetic level: Asymmetrical transfer in VOT production

The present study examines the effect of language switching on phonetic production, contributing to an understanding of the underlying interaction between a bilingual's two phonetic systems. While phonetic interaction has been studied in non-switched and code-switched paradigms, effects of connected speech (e.g. speech planning, pragmatics, etc.) may obscure underlying phonetic interaction. To investigate the impact of language switching, a cued picture-naming task was employed, with Spanish–English bilinguals of differing dominance profiles naming pictures in English and Spanish. Stimuli were produced both as switched and non-switched tokens. Addressing the impact of context, stimuli were presented in three contexts varying in quantity of language. Results indicate an asymmetrical effect of language switching on voice onset time. Specifically, both Spanish-dominant and English-dominant bilinguals demonstrated unidirectional transfer, with the dominant language significantly impacted by language switching. Drawing parallels with findings of asymmetrical temporal costs found at the lexical level, and resulting theoretical models, implications are discussed with reference to possible inhibitory mechanisms at play in bilingual phonetic selection and switching.

Dynamic differences in the production of diphthongs by French–English bilingual children

This study examines the cross-linguistic phonetic interactions in the production of diphthongs by French–English bilingual children. Tautosyllabic vowel-glide combinations in English and French have different phonological statuses. This combination corresponds to a single segment (i.e., a diphthong) in English, but two separate segments (i.e., vowel+glide) in French. Using a picture-naming experiment, the study aims to investigate (1) whether English diphthongs (e.g., /aI/ as in bye) and French tautosyllabic vowel-glide combinations (e.g. /aj/ as in baille ‘yawn’) have different phonetic implementations and, if so, (2) whether bilingual children maintain two separate categories. Diphthongs were recorded for six monolingual speakers of French and English, and four 6-7 year-old bilingual French-English speakers living in the US. To best capture the dynamic properties of diphthongs, the curves corresponding to F1 and F2 trajectories were submitted to statistical comparisons using the Smoothing Spline ANOVA. ...

Short‐term cross‐linguistic interactions in bilinguals’ vowel production.

Evidence suggests that the languages of a bilingual interact, and research has examined how first language (L1) phonetic categories influence second language (L2) acquisition. Although there may be substantial cross‐linguistic interaction in the early stages of L2 learning, less is known about acoustic‐phonetic variability when the bilingual’s systems are more stable. This study examines L1 and L2 phonetic interaction, testing how the production of vowels in one language affects vowel production in the other. L1 and L2 vowel productions are compared for late English‐Spanish bilinguals in an English‐dominant environment. Five Spanish vowels and their English equivalents are examined. Subjects completed two experimental sessions, focusing respectively on L1 and L2, on separate days. Each session contained three blocks in which subjects produced vowels in isolation: two blocks in the target language separated by a block in the non‐target language. Word cues were given to ensure the proper language for each block. Productions from first and third blocks of each session (i.e., in the same language) are compared to determine if intervening use of the other language affects subsequent vowel production. Implications are discussed for L1 and L2 phonetic representation, the status of a bilingual’s languages, and second language acquisition.

Some Prosodic Details of American English

General principles for prosodic rules for English, reported previously [C. Coker and N. Umeda, “Acoustical Properties of Word Boundaries in English; On the Vowel Duration and Pitch Prominence,” J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 47, 94 (1969)] are now implemented in a computer program. Surprisingly, the rules depend mainly on the surface structure of the sentence and on properties of the words. To provide better prosidic features for automatic synthesis, however, additional rules have been added. A good measure of the difficulty of speech material is found to be the proportion of content words to function words. According to this ratio, stress and pause assignment should be different. A paragraph redundancy rule, promoting first occurrences of content words and demoting subsequent repetitions, is found to improve naturalness and reduce monotony of the synthetic speech. Several special verb classes are assumed for assignment of clause, phrase, and word boundaries. These verbs, although different from auxiliary verbs, behave like auxiliaries in the sense that the main idea is conveyed by the remainder of the predicate. Stress and boundary assignment are altered according to verb class. Local phonetic interactions require adjustments in durations of phonemes according to specific contexts. Details of these rules and examples from synthesis are presented.