Intonational foreign accent in the speech of American speakers of German

Abstract

The F0 patterns typical of German and American English are analyzed within the framework of a category-based description of intonation events as established by the ToBI prosodic transcription system. This description is supplemented by intonation rules for the categories’ phonetic implementation. The rules are also the basis for the process of F0 generation and resynthesis, which facilitates determining which aspects in non-native speech are responsible for the perception of intonational foreign accent. An analysis of the productions of native speakers of American English who are fluent in German shows a distinct influence of L1 prosodic characteristics on L2. It consists of a transfer of native prosodic settings to L2. Several types of intonational foreign accent are identified. Tonal categories, such as pitch accents or boundary tones, are affected in two ways: either an incorrect category is selected or it is assigned to an inappropriate part of the intonation phrase. Transfer effects are particularly distinct in the American speakers’ phonetic realization of corresponding tonal categories. The Americans also maintain other prosodic language-specific features like pitch range. Overall, prosodic behavior in L2 acquisition seems quite similar to segmental behavior and in accordance with current models of segmental L2 acquisition.

Teaching Pronunciation in Just Ten Minutes a Day: A Method for Pronunciation Instruction in First‐Semester German Language Classrooms

“…Adult L2 learners are often aware of this strong connection between pronunciation and effective communication, but research suggests that they may not be able to repair pronunciation problems on their own. Even after many years of exposure to the target language either in the classroom or an immersion environment, many L2 learners’ pronunciation of certain segments or prosodic features remains steady (Counselman, ; Derwing & Munro, ; Ducate & Lomicka, ; Elliott, , ; Grosser, ; Jilka, ; Munro & Derwing, ; Trofimovich & Baker, ). L2 learners often fail to identify aspects of their own pronunciation that affect their ability to communicate and are unable to recognize their own inaccurate productions, whether the patterns or segments are the same in, or very different between, their two languages (Derwing & Rossier, ; Dlaska & Krekeler, ; Grosser, ).…”

“…Reasons for this vary; instructors may worry about time constraints or a lack of resources in the classroom (Foote, Holtby, & Derwing, ) or believe that students will improve their pronunciation skills with more language experience or time abroad. Yet this is often not the case; many second language (L2) learners fail to improve their accent on their own, even after years of instruction or immersion (Grosser, ; Jilka, ; Munro & Derwing, ; Trofimovich & Baker, ). Providing beginning learners with pronunciation instruction has many potential advantages, from preventing fossilization (Elliott, , ) to helping L2 learners acquire syntax (Eskenazi, ).…”

Perception of Paralinguistic Intonational Meaning in a Second Language

“…Prior work has mostly been concerned with the production and perception of intonation as a component of the sound pattern of an L2. Questions addressed include how successfully learners can produce L2‐specific pitch contours (e.g., Neufeld & Schneiderman, 1980; Jilka, 1999; Jun & Oh, 2000), whether they employ the same pitch range in speaking as native speakers of L2 (e.g., Willems, 1982), and whether they are able to perceive L2‐specific intonational features (Gilbert, 1980; Shen, 1990). However, intonation also carries meaning and is “fundamental to genuine communication” (Chun, 1988).…”