Second and Third Language Learners’ Sensitivity to Japanese Pitch Accent Is Additive

Abstract

This study examines second (L2) and third (L3) language learners’ pitch perception. We test the hypothesis that a listener’s discrimination of and sensitivity (d’) to Japanese pitch accent reflects how pitch cues inform all words a listener knows in an additive, nonselective manner rather than how pitch cues inform words in a selective, Japanese-only manner. Six groups of listeners performed a speeded ABX discrimination task in Japanese. Groups were defined by their L1, L2, and L3 experience with the target language’s pitch cues (Japanese), a language with less informative pitch cues (English), or a language with more informative pitch cues (Mandarin Chinese). Results indicate that sensitivity to pitch is better modeled as a function of pitch’s informativeness across all languages a listener speaks. These findings support cue-centric views of perception and transfer, demonstrate potential advantageous transfer of tonal-L1/L2 speakers, and highlight the cumulative role that pitch plays in language learning.

Individual differences in nonnative lexical tone perception: Effects of tone language repertoire and musical experience

“…For instance, Cantonese-Mandarin Chinese speakers exhibit more robust brainstem encoding of lexical tones than Cantonese speakers ( Maggu et al, 2018b ), and Taiwanese-Mandarin Chinese speakers outperform Mandarin Chinese speakers in Cantonese tone identification ( Wong and Lam, 2021 ), suggesting that speakers of two tone languages may have better tone perception than speakers of only one tone language. Wiener and Goss (2019) also found that speakers of L1 Mandarin Chinese (and L2 English) and L3 Japanese, which is a pitch accent language, outperform speakers of L1 Japanese (and L2 English) in a Japanese pitch accent discrimination task. Notably, this effect cannot be attributed to a general bilingual advantage in cognitive functions per se , as several studies have found no significant differences between speakers of two non-tone languages and speakers of one non-tone language in a tone discrimination task ( Liu et al, 2020 ) and tone word learning task ( Blumenfeld and Adams, 2014 ).…”

Do L1 tone language speakers enjoy a perceptual advantage in processing English contrastive prosody?*

“…A number of studies have provided evidence that in certain perceptual tasks, non-native speakers may outperform native speakers when their first language directs attention to cues that are particularly helpful for perception of the relevant L2 distinction (Chang, 2018; Chang & Mishler, 2012; Choi, 2021; Choi, Tong & Samuel, 2019; Kim & Tremblay, 2021; Lin, Wang, Idsardi & Xu, 2014; Tong, Lee, Lee & Burnham, 2015; Wiener & Goss, 2019). A non-native perceptual advantage is especially likely with stimuli that have been manipulated to remove some or all information other than the L1-relevant cues (Choi, 2021; Kim & Tremblay, 2021; Yu & Andruski, 2009), and the role of a cue in the listener's L1 appears to be a better predictor of performance than the listener's level of L2 proficiency and/or experience (Chrabaszcz, Winn, Lin & Idsardi, 2014; Kim & Tremblay, 2021; Wiener & Goss, 2019).…”

“…The comparison of English and Mandarin speakers is of particular interest because English and Mandarin differ substantially in their use of suprasegmental information. In Mandarin – a tone language – the primary function of pitch is to encode lexical contrast, with roughly 70% of lexical items distinguished only by tonal differences (Wiener & Goss, 2019, citing Shibata & Shibata, 1990). In English – an intonation language – pitch functions largely to convey aspects of information structure such as contrastive focus as well as speakers’ beliefs, attitudes, and intentions.…”

“…Evidence of a tone language advantage in the perception of lexical pitch accent patterns emerged in a study by Wiener and Goss in which L1 Mandarin students of Japanese showed higher accuracy than native Japanese speakers in discriminating Japanese forms with different pitch accent patterns (Wiener & Goss, 2019). Furthermore, L1 Mandarin speakers with no Japanese experience at all showed discrimination performance comparable to that of Japanese native speakers, even for Japanese pitch accent patterns that were distinct from Mandarin tonal patterns.…”

Second language acquisition at Carnegie Mellon University, USA

“…The LAPP Lab also trains undergraduate and graduate students in psycholinguistic approaches to SLA. Ongoing research projects include the doctoral dissertation research of Zhe Gao (co-advised by Professor Brian MacWhinney) on the acquisition of Chinese compound nouns and verbs by adult L2 learners (Gao, 2020), non-native English anterior fricative acquisition, perception of Japanese pitch accent by first, second, and third language speakers (Wiener & Goss, 2019), the perception-production link of Arabic L2 learners (in collaboration with Professor Al Masaeed), and heritage learners’ lexical processing.…”