L2 Development of Perceptual Categorization of Dialectal Sounds

Abstract

The present study examined second language (L2) development in the perceptual identification of a dialectal sound of the target language, through an investigation of the role of individual learner experiences in L2 phonological development. A total of 213 English-speaking learners of Spanish across five levels of study and with varying dialect contact experiences completed an identification task, which tested perceptual categorization of Spanish dialectal aspirated-s (e.g., siesta [ˈsi̯eh-ta]). In accordance with postulates of L2 speech perception models (PAM-L2, SLM, L2LP), findings revealed influence of the first language phonology on categorization at early levels shifting toward nativelike, dialect-specific categorizations of aspirated-s for more experienced learners. Dialect contact factors of prior study abroad location, native speaker social contacts, and metalinguistic training were found to be predictors of the dialectal perceptual targets toward which the L2 learners developed—for those learners past intermediate-level language courses—highlighting how individual experiences shape L2 perceptual abilities.

Sociolinguistic Competence and Interpreting Variable Structures in a Second Language

“…Additionally, L2 processing and interpretation patterns are often different from those of NSs (e.g., Clahsen & Felser, 2006; Grüter, Lew-Williams, & Fernald, 2012). As would be expected, given what is known about variable structures in L2s, interpretation may further be affected by implicit language attitudes, by individual identities, and by experiences and contact with particular speech communities (Schmidt, 2018; Schoonmaker-Gates, 2017). It is important to note that the term interpretation may be used to refer to online processing as well as more deliberate interpretation of meaning (or implied meaning), both linguistic and social, and this range of constructs further contributes to the variety of studies included under the umbrella term.…”

Role of developing language attitudes in a study abroad context on adoption of dialectal pronunciations

“…Schmidt (2018) found in a crosssectional L2 perception study of aspirated-/s/ that the American English learners of Spanish did not acquire the perceptual mapping or association of syllable-final aspirated [h] forms to Spanish /s/ until late levels of proficiency (third-year university Spanish courses or above), if at all-and frequently "ignored" syllable-final [h] or perceived it as Spanish "f." Indeed, though all students in the current study reported awareness of the local dialectal pronunciation of "y" and "ll," only one-third reported awareness of the local pronunciation of syllable-final "s." It is argued, thus, that a major contributor to why the learners in the current study did not produce the local /s/-lenited variants [h ϕ] by the end of the shortterm study abroad period-and why Geeslin and Gudmestad (2011) also found low levels of use-is the low phonetic saliency, or acoustic prominence, of these phones for English speakers (due potentially to the position of the aspirated cue at the end of a syllable or a word, a less salient position (Cutler, 1982), and to its likely association with the previous vowel for English speakers and is as such "ignored" as a consonant segment (see L. B. Schmidt, 2018)). Thus, this low phonetic saliency results in a lack of noticing or awareness of the lenited-/s/ forms by the L2 learners-which, of course, is argued to be a critical condition for learning to occur (see the Noticing Hypothesis; R. Schmidt, 1990).…”

Native and Nonnative Perception of Western Andalusian Spanish /S/ Aspiration in Quiet and Noise

“…One possible limitation was the two-forced choice alternatives offered as possible answers. Schmidt (2018), other than a lexical identification task, employed a categorization task with nonsense words in her study, in which she provided further response alternatives to [s] and [V]. Even when she used citation-form words, the fact that she included [f] as a possible answer enabled her to see that aspiration was noticed, although not associated to /s/.…”

“…Apart from this study, research on the perception of L2 Spanish aspiration has been dedicated to other Spanish varieties. Schmidt (2018) studied the aspiration of coda /s/ in citation-form words of Argentinian and Venezuelan Spanish by speakers of GAE, in relation to their level of proficiency (levels 1–5). Results indicate that not until level 3 do listeners start to identify this dialectal feature and not until level 5 do listeners perform similarly to native speakers of the dialect.…”