Mimicking accented speech as L2 phonological awareness

Abstract

This study investigated Spanish-speaking learners’ awareness of a non-distinctive phonetic difference between Spanish and English through a delayed mimicry paradigm. We assessed learners' speech production accuracy through voice onset time (VOT) duration measures in word-initial pre-vocalic /p t k/ in Spanish and English words, and in Spanish words produced with an English accent. In addition, the second language (L2) English words and the English-accented Spanish words were rated, respectively, by first language (L1) English and L1 Spanish listeners on 9-point accentedness scales. Spanish-speaking learners were found to modify their native short-lag laryngeal timing patterns significantly, producing longer VOT durations in L2 English and, crucially, in their production of English-accented Spanish words, than they did in the production of L1 Spanish words. This was taken as evidence of learners having developed tacit phonological awareness of the cross-language VOT difference between Spanish and English voiceless stops.

Keywords:

• phonological awareness
• VOT
• foreign accent
• imitation

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants HUM2007-64302 and HUM2007-66053-C02-01/02 from the Spanish Ministry of Education and grant 2009SGR137 from the Catalan Government. We thank Ana Fernández from the UB Phonetics Lab for technical assistance and the participants in the study. Finally, we would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this article; any remaining errors are our own.

Note

Notes

1 The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages describes foreign-language proficiency at six levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joan C. Mora

Joan C. Mora holds a PhD in English linguistics from the University of Barcelona where he teaches courses in English linguistics and English phonetics and phonology. His research has examined the role of contextual and individual factors in the development of L2 speech and oral fluency. His current research interests focus on bilingual phonological acquisition and the effect of individual differences in cognitive ability on L2 speech learning.

Youssef Rochdi

Youssef Rochdi holds an MA degree in applied linguistics from the University of Barcelona. He is currently teaching in the department of modern languages in the University of Girona.

Hanna Kivistö-de Souza

Hanna Kivistö-de Souza holds an MA degree in applied linguistics from the University of Barcelona where she is a PhD candidate in the applied linguistics programme. She is currently conducting her doctoral research on phonological awareness.