Timing Relations in Second Language Speech: phonetic universals as predictors of target-like production
Ewa Waniek-Klimczak
University of £ód¼
This paper reports on the results of the study into timing relations in the production of English spoken by Polish immigrants to the U.S. Timing relations have been investigated at the level of acoustic durational parameters of voice onset time, stop closure duration and vowel duration in a belief that the level of phonetic detail is crucial for the temporal organisation of second language speech and for the acquisition of second language sound system in general. The support for this belief comes from second language studies, which prove that the acquisition of timing relations precedes the acquisition of spectral features of speech sounds (e.g. Bohn & Flege 1997, Piske et al. 2001) and from studies into the relationship between the segmental and suprasegmental (prosodic) structure (e.g. Cho & Keating 2001, Turk & Shattuck-Hufnagel 2000). The duration of acoustic parameters is discussed with reference to the duration of words in isolation and words within longer utterances by means of an absolute-time based proportional representation. The aim of the study is to establish optimal conditions for the production of durational parameters in second language speech for the purpose of explaining and predicting the dynamism of durational variability in second language. The present paper focuses on the applicability of universal phonetic tendencies in predicting the optimal contexts for the production of durational parameters in second language phonetics.
We assume that acquisition of timing relations in non-native speech requires reorganisation of the phonetic level; as second language speech is believed to comprise elements of L1, L2 and language universals (Major 2001), we claim that universal phonetic tendencies (Maddieson 1997, 1999) can be used as predictors of success in target-like production of durational parameters. Universally preferred inherent and contextually dependent durational characteristics of speech sounds make it possible to predict contexts in which lengthening or shortening of a given phonetic parameter can be expected to be easier for non-native speakers. Apart from phonetic universals, cross-linguistic, stylistic and speaker-dependent factors are claimed to contribute to contextual optimality facilitating the shift of values towards the target ones; these relations are summarised in the Optimal Context Model whose validity is checked against the experimental data.
References:
Bohn, O.-S. & Flege, E. 1997. "Perception and production of a new vowel category by adult second language learners". In Leather, J. & James, A. (eds.), Second Language Speech. Berlin: Mouton. pp. 53-73.
Cho, T. & Keating, P. 2001. "Articulatory and acoustic studies on domain-initial strengthening in Korean". Journal of Phonetics 29: 155-190.
Maddieson, I. 1997. "Phonetic Universals". In: Hardcastle, W.J. & J. Laver (eds.), The Handbook of Phonetic Sciences. Blackwell: 619-639.
Maddieson, I. 1999. "In search of universals". In Ohala, J., Hasegawa, J., Ohala M., Grnaville, D., & Bailey A.C. (eds.), Procedings of the 14th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences 1999, vol.3: 2521-2528.
Major, R. 2001. Foreign Accent: The Ontogeny and Phylogeny of Second Language Phonology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Piske, T., MacKay, I. R. A. & Flege J. E. 2001. "Factors affecting degree of foreign accent in an L2: a review". Journal of Phonetics 29: 191-215.
Turk, A. E. & Shattuck-Hufnagel, S. 2000. "Word-boundary-related duration patterns in English". Journal of Phonetics 28: 397-440.