Analysing the relationship between L2 production and different stages of L2 processing: eye-tracking and acoustic evidence for a novel contrast
Analysing the relationship between L2 production and different stages of L2 processing: eye-tracking and acoustic evidence for a novel contrast
This study analyses the relationship between native English speakers’ perception and production of the novel French /y/–/u/ contrast. Acoustic data were extracted from the learners’ production of French minimal pairs contrasting these French vowels and compared with their processing of the same items in a Visual World eye-tracking task. Results reveal that the vowel most acoustically similar to the learners’ native English /u/ vowel, French /y/, is both easier to identify at early processing stages and more acoustically similar to a native French control group in production, indicating a perception-production relationship. Furthermore, analyses of individual variation reveal that the learners who process both /y/ and /u/ more successfully at later processing stages are also more likely to mark a greater distinction between these phonemes in production. Together, these results indicate a relationship between L2 processing and L2 production at multiple levels. Implications for current L2 speech models are discussed.
Acoustic phonetics, Eye-tracking, L2 phonology, L2 speech perception, L2 speech production, Online processing, Visual World Paradigm
Turner, James
fd6de0d7-09f9-44e7-9425-c654cccd3475
1 March 2022
Turner, James
fd6de0d7-09f9-44e7-9425-c654cccd3475
Turner, James
(2022)
Analysing the relationship between L2 production and different stages of L2 processing: eye-tracking and acoustic evidence for a novel contrast.
Journal of Phonetics, 91, [101134].
(doi:10.1016/j.wocn.2022.101134).
Abstract
This study analyses the relationship between native English speakers’ perception and production of the novel French /y/–/u/ contrast. Acoustic data were extracted from the learners’ production of French minimal pairs contrasting these French vowels and compared with their processing of the same items in a Visual World eye-tracking task. Results reveal that the vowel most acoustically similar to the learners’ native English /u/ vowel, French /y/, is both easier to identify at early processing stages and more acoustically similar to a native French control group in production, indicating a perception-production relationship. Furthermore, analyses of individual variation reveal that the learners who process both /y/ and /u/ more successfully at later processing stages are also more likely to mark a greater distinction between these phonemes in production. Together, these results indicate a relationship between L2 processing and L2 production at multiple levels. Implications for current L2 speech models are discussed.
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Accepted/In Press date: 7 January 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 2 February 2022
Published date: 1 March 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The author gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (Grant Number: ES/P000673/1), and by extension, the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP).
Keywords:
Acoustic phonetics, Eye-tracking, L2 phonology, L2 speech perception, L2 speech production, Online processing, Visual World Paradigm
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Local EPrints ID: 473591
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/473591
ISSN: 0095-4470
PURE UUID: b7c0fd66-9955-48d5-a793-8927a903aa7a
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Date deposited: 24 Jan 2023 17:39
Last modified: 24 Apr 2024 01:53
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James Turner
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