Perceptual assimilation of non-native prosodic cues: Cross-linguistic effects of lexical F0 learning

Abstract

This preliminary study examines how first (L1) and second language (L2) experience with lexical fundamental frequency (F0) variations affect the perception of Japanese pitch accent. Japanese-L1 speakers and English-L1 speakers performed an ABX discrimination task and a 3-alternative-forced-choice (3-AFC) categorization task with instructions given in participants' native language. Results support previous findings on non-native perception: Japanese-L1 speakers' were more accurate at both tasks than English-L1 speakers. The English-L1 group then completed a 15-week university level introductory Mandarin Chinese language course in which learners were taught the lexical role of F0, i.e., tone. At the end of their L2 language training, the English-L1 group was retested using the same ABX and 3-AFC tasks and stimuli. Participants' accuracy equaled that of Japanese-L1 listeners in both tasks. Analyses of listeners' sensitivity (d') revealed a statistical improvement in the ABX task but not in the 3-AFC task. These preliminary results suggest that learning lexical F0 variations in an L2 can influence the perception of an additional non-native language that utilizes lexical F0 cues (i.e., at the phonological level) as well as the discrimination of prosodic categories that share overlapping F0 contours (i.e., at the phonetic level). These findings are compatible with models of perceptual assimilation of suprasegmentals.