L2 speech learning of European Portuguese /l/ and /ɾ/ by L1-Mandarin learners: Experimental evidence and theoretical modelling

Abstract

brought me into the world of phonology and language acquisition six years ago. To her I owe most of what I know about phonological acquisition. With endless patience and constant encouragement, she has taught me to develop rigorous work and to cultivate free thinking. Throughout these years, she has never stopped being supportive either in research or in life. I am grateful for all her invaluable guidance, which has helped me to grow as a researcher.Prof. Anabela has always been present since the very beginning of this project. She has been an example of critical thinking and commitment to science. I cannot thank her enough for our countless meetings, where we discussed literally every tiny detail of the experimental design. Without her dedication and trust for the last four years, I could not have finished this thesis.Prof. Paula deeply shaped my view of phonological acquisition through her work when I was still a Master student. I am very grateful for having her in my advisory team. Her insightful feedback and suggestions pushed me to sharpen my thinking and brought this thesis to a higher level. I am also grateful to Prof. Silke Hamann and Prof. Paul Boersma, who opened the door of their Lab at Amsterdam for me.Prof. Silke is not only a leading scientist, a great teacher, but also a wonderful friend, who is always ready to listen and help. I am deeply indebted to her for all the patience, encouragement and mentoring. Her rigor and creativity in research and generosity in life have been a great inspiration for me.Prof. Paul taught me everything I know about statistics, which changed fundamentally the way I design experiments and interpret data. The fact that his work shapes greatly my understanding of phonetics and phonology is clearly evidenced by this thesis.Os meus agradecimentos também vão para os meus colegas e amigos da