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Acquiring a Non native Phonology
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Acquiringa
Non native Phonology
Linguistic Constraints and Social arriers
Jette
G
Hansen
ont nuum
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Continuum
The
Tower Building
80
Maiden Lane
11 York Road Suite 704
London SE1 7NX New York, NY 10038
USA
First
published 2006.
Jette
G.
Hansen 2006
ll
rights reserved.
No
part
of
this publication
may be
reproduced
ortransmittedin
anyform or by anymeans, electronicormechanical, including photocopying,
recording,
or any
information storage
or
retrieval system, without prior permission
in
writingfromthe publishers.
BritishLibraryCataloguing in Publication
Data
catalogue recordforthis bookisavailablefrom theBritish Library.
ISBN: 0-8264-6862-4 hardback)
Typeset
by
Data Standards Ltd,Frome,Somerset,
UK
Printed
and
bound
in
Great Britain
by
Antony
Rowe
Ltd., Chippenham, Wiltshire
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ont nts
1 Introduction
2 InvestigatingL2Phonology
3 ResearchingtheNguyen Family
4
Acquiring
a
Non nativeSyllableStructure
5 Linguistic and Task Constraints
6 Social Barriers
7 AUnifiedApproach
8
Conclusions
eferen es
ppendices
ndexes
1
7
40
59
95
126
153
164
168
177
194
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ntroduction
In this introductory chapter to the book. Acquiring
Non-native
Phonology:
Linguistic
Constraints
and
SocialBarriers
the
purpose
of the
book,
as
well
as a
brief introduction
to the
study
and its
background,
is
presented. Finally,anoverviewof thestructureof thebookisgiven.
Purpose
of the
book
The followingvolumeis amonograph studyof the English second
language ESL) phonological development of a Vietnamese
family
across
nearly
one
year. Specifically,
the
book examines
the
acquisition
of
consonants syllable-initial and syllable-final
consonants
and
consonant clusters)
by a
Vietnamese husband
and wife who
immigrated
to the
United States
one
year prior
to the
commencement
of
the study. In examining the acquisition of these consonants,
linguisticfactors, suchastransferandmarkedness,andsocial factors,
such
asopportunities for second language L2) use, extent of first
language
LI)
and L2
use,
and
gender, among others, were analysed
in order to examine
their
individual and combined
effects
on the
acquisition of
consonants
by the
participants. Similarities
and
differences
between
the two
participants
in their
phonological
development were also analysed with respect to the linguistic and
social factors.
Although the
study
of the
acquisition
of an L2
English phonology,
and especially the acquisition of English consonants and consonant
clusters,
has received attention from second language acquisition
SLA) researchers, the studies in this area have been mostly one-off
rather than longitudinal,
and
thus have examined production, rather
than the process of acquisition. In addition, the
focus
has typically
been
on either linguistic or social constraints, rarely
both.
The acquisition of L2 English consonants and consonant clusters
has been a major area of study in L2 phonology as English has a
relativelycomplex phonology, withawide rangeofconsonants ableto
occupy both syllable-initial onset) andsyllable-final coda)
position,
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2
ACQUIRING A NON-NATIVE PHONOLOGY
aswell as allowing a number of consonants to precede and follow
each
other in the onset (up to three consonants in a row) and coda
(up to four consonants in a row) while other languages, such as
Vietnamese, have relatively simpler typesand lengths of consonants
in
onsets and codas. L2 learners of English whose LI is simpler, such
asVietnamese, typically modify codas
in
production,
via
epenthesis,
devoicing, and/or absence
in
production,
in
favour
of
shorter,
and
thus simpler, codas. While researchers agree that this is a common
process
for
learners
of
English, including
LI
learners
of
English, there
is a lack of agreement over what linguistic processes (e.g. LI transfer
or
markedness)
affect
the learners production and acquisitions, and
even what typesof modification processes learners favour Onereason
for thelack ofconsensus is the
fact
that the
majority
of theresearch in
L2phonology hasbeen one-off, rather than longitudinal, with studies
being done with learnersof different ages andlanguage levels, making
comparisons among studies difficult Therefore there
is a
lack
of
knowledge about
how
processes interact
and
change over
a
longer
periodoflanguage acquisition.
Additionally, there
has
been
little
research
on the
influence
that
the
social
context
of
language learning
has on the
acquisition
on L2
phonology, although some
one-off
research hasfocusedon the effect
of the social context on L2 production (cf. Adamson and Regan
1991; Beebe 1980; Beebe
and
Zuengler 1983; Dowd, Zuengler
and
Berkowitz 1990; Schmidt 1974, 1983, 1987). Recent work (e.g.
Gumming and Gill 1992; Goldstein 1995; Norton 2000) in SLA has
alsosuggested that the socially structured and reinforced gender roles
of
boththe LI and the L2culturemayhavean
effect
onopportunities
forL2development. Additionally, work byFlege andcolleagues (e.g.
Flege, Frieda
and
Nozawa 1997; Guion, Flege
and
Loftin
2000;
Piske
and MacKay 1999; Piske, MacKay
and
Flege 2001)
has
suggested
that what is crucial in L2 accent is not the amount of L2 use but the
extentof LI use; that is,individuals may be more likely toretain an
accent in L2 if they have greater use of LI, whereas greater use of L2
maynot minimize anaccent in L2. A greater understanding of how
these social
factors
constrain L2 acquisition, and how social
factors
and linguistic factors interact in the acquisition of an L2, is crucial to
theory testing and development in SLA as well as for L2 pedagogy.
While
a
number
of
long-term case studies
and
in-depth analyses
of
individual learners acquiringan LI phonology (i.e. child LI phono-
logical
acquisition) (e.g. Leopold 1939; Macken 1979)
are
considered
to be
classics
in the field,
there have been
few
longitudinal
or
in-depth
analyses
of individual learners acquiring an L2 phonology. Yet,
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INTRODUCTION 3
studies of this kind may provide researchers and teachers with
information on developmental patterns for comparison with their
own studies and/or students,
as well as a
more comprehensive
overview
of how
both linguistic
and
social
factors
impact language
development.
Therefore,
the
purpose
of
this book
is to
illustrate
- via a
detailed
analysis
of the
acquisition
of L2
consonants
-
developmental
sequences in acquiring an L2, and the social and linguistic factors
that influence this development at any given time in the acquisition
process.
This
book is unique not only due to its
focus
on both social
and linguistic factors, and their interaction within and across time,
butalsodue to itslongitudinal
nature,
and finally, thecomprehensive
and
detailed analysis
of the
data
due to a
focus
on one family.As
such,this bookfills aunique voidin the SLAliterature- thatis, it is a
comprehensive monograph study with detailed analyses across a
longitudinal time span of L2 acquisition.
The volume may be appropriate for a number of readerships,
including students
in
applied linguistics, linguistics,
or
TESOL
programmes;
and
researchers
and
teachers interested
in the
teaching
and learning
of an L2
sound system.
For the first
audience,
the
monograph study
is
designed
to
supplement
SLA
texts
by
examining
in detail the case of one family s acquisition of an L2, grounding the
examination of this acquisition within existing SLA theoretical
frameworks e.g. psycholinguistic
and
socio-cultural theories),
and
challenging these existing frameworks
to
account
for the
phenomena
observed in these data.Thisbook should be of interest to teachers
since it
will
provide them with concrete examples of SLA processes
viaadetailed discussionofactual language learners, and bymaking
theory and research accessible and meaningful to their needs via
specific
examplesand illustrations.
For
language researchers, this book should
be of
interest because
of
the very detailed analysis of SLA processes, and the extensive
presentation
of
actual
data,
which
will
allow researchers
to
gain
a
deeper perspective
of the
phenomena observed
in the
study.
For the secondaudience,researchers andteachers interestedin L2
phonology and pronunciation teaching in specific, this monograph
provides an in-depth analysis and
discussion
of the developmental
processesinacquiringanon-native sound system- presentingarich
baseof L2phonological data acrossalongitudinal timefram e -which
hasnotpreviously been presentedin theliterature.Thiscomprehen-
sive
database should
be of
interest
to
anyone concerned with
the
acquisition
of an L2
phonology. Additionally,
it
should
also
be of
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4
ACQUIRING
A
NON-NATIVE PHONOLOGY
interest
to L2
language teachers
as it
provides them with concrete
examples of the
pronunciation production
and
modification processes
oflearners,
as
well
as
specific details about
why
theseproductions
and
modificationstake place.
2 ackground
to the
study
Thepresent study examinestheacquisitionofEnglishL2consonants
overnearly
one
year
and focuses on
learners
of
spoken English
who
haveentered
theUnited
Statesaround
one
year before
the
onset
of
the study. Consonants were the
focus
of the study because this is an
area
ofdifficulty formany learnersofEnglishandtherefore onset and
coda acquisition is an important pedagogical concern in L2 teaching
since modification of these can
affect
communicative efficacy and
debilitate communication and comprehension.
Speakers
of
Vietnamese were chosen
in
part because Vietnamese
has arelatively simpler phonological structure in comparison with
English, and English onsets and codas aredifficult for these learners
to
acquire. Participants
who had
been
in the
United States
for
around
one
year
beforethe
commencement
of the
study were chosen
as
these
were still relatively new learners or in the early stages of L2
development while at the same time having some experience in L2
to
enable them
to
communicate
in
English during
the
conversations
that
were partof thedata collection techniques.
The
family
under study was selected during my teaching at a
community college in Tucson, Arizona. One of my students, a
woman
from
Vietnam, was my student in an introductory ESL
speaking
and
listening class. fter
the
course
was
completed,
I
approached herabouther interest inparticipatingin the study, and
after
agreeing to do so, she suggested meeting in her home and the
addition of herhusband as aparticipant in the study. I agreed to
include her husband in the study as a
family
provides an ideal
opportunity
to
make comparisons between speakers
as the
members
of
the
familyhave similar
LI
backgrounds. Additionally,
the
family
provides a unique opportunity to research how the differentialsocial
networks
and
identity formations
of the
members
of the family
influenceL2acquisition, aswellaswhat varietyofEnglishistargeted
for acquisition as based on social e.g. peer) networks and in-group
identification. Communication within the
family
can also be exam-
ined. Insights into language use, language resistance and language
maintenance withinafamily arecrucialinunderstanding howsocial
forces
affect
language acquisition
and
attrition.
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INTRODUCTION 5
This
study examines linguistic and social factors in order to
ascertain
how
linguistic
and
social factors individually
and
interac-
tively
constrain, both positively andnegatively, L2 acquisition. Data
on socialfactorswere collected via interviews, participants language
logs (language
use
journals),
and
observations,
and
data collection
tookplace approximately once aweek for theduration of the study.
Interviews
were alwaystape-recorded, and field notes were also taken
duringthe interviewsand observations. The topic of the interviews
were the participants LI and L2 language use patterns, social
interactions, and daily routines, which were analysed qualitatively in
order to understand the social constraints on the participants
language use and acquisition. Speech samplesfor phonological data
analysis
were selected
from
the one-on-one interviews at three month
intervals during the study and analysed via both descriptive and
inferential statistics.
3 tructure of thebook
The structure of thebook is asfollows: this
chapter
hasprovided an
overviewof the purpose of the book, the background to the study, and
the structure of the book. Chapter 2: Investigating L2 Phonology, is a
review of the literature in three major areas: linguistic constraints,
including LI transfer, developmental effects markedness and lin-
guistic environment; social factors, including gender, social identity
and extent of LI and L2 use; and variation based on linguistic, social
and task
effects.
An overview of both English and Vietnamese
phonology
is
also provided
in
Chapter
2.
Chapter
:
Researching
the
Nguyen Family, details
the
selection
of the
participants,
the
background
of the family aswell as that ofVietnamese immigrants
tothe US, aswell as how data - bothphonological and social -were
collected
and analysed. Chapter 4: Acquiring a Non-native Syllable
Structure,presents the findings
from
the linguistic analysis. Findings
from both onsets
and
then codas
are first
presented individually,
followed
by a comparison ofonset and codas findings to examine
developmental patterns. Chapter
5:
Linguistic
and
Task Constraints,
presents an analysis of the linguistic findings in light of linguistic
constraints such as transfer, developmental
effects
and markedness,
as
wellaslinguistic environment, grammatical conditioningandtask
effects. Chapter
6:
Social Barriers,
first
provides
a
detailed overview
ofthesocial contexts oflanguage use for theparticipants across the
duration of the study, and then an examination of the social factors,
including social identity, gender and opportunities for LI and L2 use,
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ACQUIRING
A
NON-NATIVE PHONOLOGY
that
affect
the
participants
language development within and across
time.
In
Chapter
7: A
Unified Approach, discussion
of the
stages
of
onset and coda acquisition that the participants in this study show
across time is provided.
This
is
followed
by an analysis of the
interaction ofsocial and linguistic constraints. Finally, the effect of
social barriers on the acquisition of L2 syllable margins by the
participants is discussed. In the final chapter. Chapter 8:
Conclusions,
a
summary
of the findings from
this study
on the
acquisition
of an L2
phonology
is
given.
The
limitations
to
this study
are then given,followedby suggestions forfutureresearch. Finally, an
epilogue
to the
story
of the
Nguyens,
the
participants
in the
study,
is
given.
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InvestigatingL Phonology
Thischapter provides an overview of the
major
issues and findings in
researchon L2phonology relevantto the
focus
ofthis project.
First,
theory
and
research
on
linguistic constraints, namely
LI
transfer,
developmental effects markedness and linguistic environments, is
presented.
Research and theory on social barriers, specifically social
identity, gender, extent
of LI and L2
use,
and
attitudes,motivation
and investment,
are
explored. Additionally, research addressing
linguistic and social as well as task variation is also discussed.
Finally,
an
overview
of first
English phonology
and then
Vietnamese
phonology
is
provided.
2 1 Theoreticalframeworksandresearch findings
2 LI inguistic constraints
The discussion oflinguistic constraints
will
first examine the
effect
of
LI transfer on the acquisition of an L2 phonology.This isfollowed by
a
synthesis
of
developmental
effects
for LI
child learners
as
well
as
how these effects impact
L2
phonological acquisition. Interaction
among LI transfer and developmental effects in L2 phonological
acquisition is then discussed. Markedness is then addressed in a
number of dimensions: preferences for an open syllable structure,
length
of
margins, type
of
margins, length
and
type
of
margins
and
sonority. The effect of the linguistic environment is then examined.
Finally, research that focuses on the acquisition of an English L2
phonology
by
speakers
of
Vietnamese
is
presented.
2 1 1 1
LI
transfer
AsLeather and James (1991) explain, The role of LI in L2 speech
acquisition
has formed a major, if not
the
major, focus of attention
almost as long as second language speech has been studied (321,
authors emphasis). Odlin (1989) defines LI transfer as follows:
Transfer is the influence resulting
from
the similarities and
differ-
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8 ACQUIRINGA NON-NATIVE PHONOLOGY
ences
between the target language and any other language that has
been previously (and perhaps imperfectly) acquired (27).A major
finding
in SLA
research
is that LI
transfer
is a
prominent
factor
affecting
L2
phonological acquisition
and
production (Altenberg
and
Vago 1987; Benson 1988; Broselow 1987; Flege and Davidian 1984;
Hancin-Bhatt
and
Bhatt 1997; Hansen 2001, 2004; Hodne 1985;
Major 1987a; Major and Faudree 1996; Odlin 1989; Sato 1984;
Skaer 1984; Tarone 1980, 1987; Vago and Altenberg 1977;
Weinberger 1987). As Skaer (1984) notes, the point still remains
that native language phonology does clearly affect target language
acquisition.. .transfer
is
usually detected through production errors
in
speech... (4). Many researchers state that similarity
of
sounds
is a
criterion for transfer: the substituted sound is
often
the most
acoustically or
articulatorily similar sound
to the
target language
sound.
In her work with Korean, Cantonese and Brazilian learners of
English,Tarone (1980, 1987)
found
that themajorityof the errors in
word-final consonants produced
by the
learners could
be
attributed
to LI transfer
effects.
Tarone
(1980) found evidence that the learners
modified
one fifth
or 20 per cent of the final consonants they
produced.
The
majority
(78 per
cent)
of
these modifications could
be
attributed to LI transfer. Tarone also found that the learners
language backgrounds affected whether deletion or epenthesis was
the favoured modification process, with Cantonese and Korean
speakers favouring consonant deletion
and
Portuguese speakers
favouring epenthesis. As Sato (1984) explains, Tarone s research
provides clear evidence of the predominance
of LI
transfer
as a
force
shaping [interlanguage] syllable structure (45).
Sato s (1984) study of Vietnamese speakers English syllable
structure production confirms
Tarone s
results. Sato found evidence
ofLI transfer for syllable structures inVietnamese interlanguage in
the learners preference for closed over open syllables (open would
be a syllable ending in a vowel such as toand closed would be a
syllable
ending in a consonant or consonant cluster as in
hat
since
Vietnamese has
closed syllable structures.
LI
transfer
was
also
demonstrated in the effect ofsyllable position on consonant cluster
production in Vietnamese interlanguage: word-final consonant
clusters
were produced with less accuracy than word-initial con-
sonant clusters. In her study of task variation and final consonant
and consonant cluster production by a Vietnamese learner of
English, Sato (1985) also found LI transfer effects on production
accuracy.
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1
ACQUIRING
A
NON-NATIVE PHONOLOGY
both phonetic
and
phonological transfer affected
the
participants
production of English.
Major and Faudree (1996) examined both positive and negative
transfer
in
their research
on the
development
of
voicing contrasts
in
L2 English by native speakers of Korean, and found
that
positive
transfer always applied in the production of voicing contrasts (e.g.
production of voiceless English obstruents in word-initial and final
positions due to their existence inKorean, andproduction of voiced
obstruents
in
medial position
due to the
Korean intervocalic voicing
rule).
In
contrast, negative transfer only occurred with voiced
obstruents
in final
position,
as
predicted,
but not
with voiceless
obstruents
in
medial position
and
voiced obstruents
in
initial position.
In summary, LI transfer appears to be a prominent
factor affecting
L2 phonological acquisition and use (Altenberg and Vago 1987;
Benson 1988; Broselow 1987; Hodne 1985;Major 1987a; Major
and
Faudree 1996; Sato 1984, 1985; Tarone 1980, 1987; Vago
and
Altenberg 1977). As James (1988) states, the syllable structure of the
LI in question would seem to exert a strong influence in any case on
the syllable
forms
of an IL (5). LI transfer also may influence
whether deletion or epenthesis is
favoured
as a modification process
(e.g.
Tarone
1980). There also appears to be a constraint onwhich
LI rules tend totransfer, with those rulesthatsimplify pronunciation
transferring more easily than morphologically restricted rules
(Altenberg and Vago 1987; Broselow 1987; Hammarberg 1997;
Vagoand
Altenberg 1977).
2 1 1 2
Developmental
effects
Developmental effects can be defined as the sequence of and patterns
in the
acquisition
of a
given linguistic phenomenon
by
children
acquiring a given language as their native language. As Jakobson
(1968) states:
Whether it is a question of French or Scandinavian children, of
English or Slavic, of Indian or German, or of Estonian, Dutchor
Japanese children,
every
description based on
careful
observation
repeatedly confirms the strikingfactthat the relative chronological
order
of
phonological acquisitions remains everywhere
and at all
times the same. (46)
Both cross-linguistically and across children acquiring a particular
language
as
their
LI, as
Jakobson (1968) states, there
are
universal
tendencies in how children acquire their LI. In particular, voiceless
consonants are usually acquired
before
voiced consonants. Stops are
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INVESTIGATINGL2PHONOLOGY 11
acquired before nasals, and nasals before
fricatives.
Fricatives are
usually
not acquired before stops are acquired. When first acquiring
fricatives,a child changes the fricative to the corresponding stop, for
example /f/ to /p/ and /s/ to /t/, aprocess knownas stopping . The
acquisition
of the
back
consonants
such
as the
velars
and
palatovelars
presupposes
the
acquisition
of the front
consonants such
as
labials
and dentals. Additionally, front oral and nasal stops are acquired
before back oral
and
nasal stops. This
is
true
for
fricatives
as
well:
frontfricativesare
acquired prior
to
back
fricativesand the
acquisition
ofback fricatives also presupposes
the
acquisition
of
front fricatives.
Therefore,
one can say
that
the
acquisition
of
back consonants
presupposes
the
acquisition
of
front
consonants. One
exception
is the
acquisition
of the
dental
fricatives /6/ and
/5/; these
two
consonants
areusually acquired late and are
often
initially stopped to /t/ and /d/,
respectively.
Initially, children substitute
the
back nasal consonants with /n/,
and
also typically substitute back consonants with their corresponding
dentals (e.g. /t/ for /k/ and /c/), which is called fronting. The
acquisition of/k/ is preceded by mistakes in the use of
both
/k/ and /t/,
and the often hypercorrectionof the twophonemes in favour of/k/.
Therefore, when acquired,/k/ at first merges with /t/ and only later
develops
into a separate phoneme. Affricates also called half-stop
consonants,
are
acquired only
after the
acquisition
of the
corres-
ponding fricative, and before acquiring the affricate a child may
substitute the sound with either its corresponding
fricative
or stop.
The latest phonemic acquisitions for the child are those oppositions
that rarely occurin thelanguagesof theworld, e.g. nasal vowelsor the
second of one of the two liquids (either III or /r/) (Jakobson 1968, 47-
58).
In
development
of
English
as an LI,
children often substitute
/w/
for/i/.
1
Other developmental processes include assimilation processes such
asconsonant harmony, wherein consonants within
the
same word
are
assimilated. Typically, velars and labials are most resistant to
assimilation while dentals are the most frequently assimilated
consonants (Macken and
Ferguson 1981).
Other assimilation pro-
cesses include consonant voicing
in
voiced environments
and
devoicingin word-final
position,
as
well
as
denasalization.
In terms of syllable structures, Ingram (1976) states that the
general tendency for children acquiring syllable structures is the
reduction
of all
syllables
to a CV form via
consonant deletion, vowel
epenthesis, unstressed vowel deletion,
and
reduplication
of the first
CV
syllable
structure.
The first strategy children appear to adopt is
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12 ACQUIRING A NON-NATIVE PHONOLOGY
the deletion of final consonants, especially in consonant-vowel-
consonant (CVC)syllable structures. Ingram notes that the first
consonants typically acquired
in final
position
are
velars.
In
terms
of
the
deletion
of
unstressed syllables,
in the
initial stages
of
language
acquisition the first words acquired are monosyllabic, and when
bisyllabic words are
used,
the unstressed syllableis deleted. When the
child is able to produce two syllables, several deletion processes
occur: initially, there
is a
reduction
of the
unstressed syllable(e.g.
the
vowel isreduced to aschwa), and secondly, all unstressed syllables
existing in three syllable words are deleted. In the third stage, medial
stressedsyllables
may be
produced
but
there
is a
continuation
of the
deletion
of
unstressed initial syllables.
In the
fourth stage, unstressed
syllables
may be produced in bisyllabic words, although not as
frequently in trisyllabic words. In stage five, the child approximates
correct adult pronunciation (Ingram1976: 30-1).
The reduction of consonant clusters is another process that has
several
stages and can continue for a longer period of time.
Consonant cluster reduction
via
consonant deletion
is not
random.
The firststageismarkedby thedeletionof theentire cluster,
followed
by the reduction of the cluster to one consonant in the second stage.
Typically,
the
marked member
of the
cluster
is
deleted
(in
clusters
with /s/
plus
a
stop,
the /s/ is
deleted;
in
stop
+
liquid,
the
liquid
is
deleted;
in
fricative
+
glide/liquid,
the
glide/liquid
is
deleted;
and in
nasal
+ obstruent, the nasal is deleted) (Ingram
1976: 32-3).
In stage
three,
the
cluster
is
produced, with
the
substitution
of one of the
elements,a liquid to aglide, for example. Stagefourmarks thechild s
correct pronunciation of clusters (Ingram
1976: 31-3).
It is also
important
to
note that native speakers typically delete
the
medial
consonant in a final three-consonant cluster, usually a /t/ or a /d/
(Hieke 1987).Intwo-consonant final clusters, stops may be deleted,
especially
in
nasal-stop sequences.
Research
on L2 phonological acquisition has examined the extent
to which L2 developmental processes(the sequences and modifica-
tionsan L2
speaker makes
in
acquiring
the L2)
mirrors those
for
child
learners of the same LI. For example, Piper (1984) researched
whether LI and L2 developmental effects would be similar by
examining the consonant production of fifteen 5 year-old children of
various Lls (Portuguese, Punjabi,
Mandarin
Chinese, Vietnamese,
Serbo-Croatian and Italian) learningESL. She found that the LI
developmental
effects
of substitution (stopping, fronting and gliding),
syllable
structure mismatches
final
consonant deletion, vowel and
consonant epenthesis
and cluster reduction) and
assimilation (voic-
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INVESTIGATINGL2PHONOLOGY 13
ing, devoicing
and
consonant harmony) accounted
for 86 per
cent
of
the
participants consonant production errors. However, some
discrepancies existed between
LI and L2
developmental effects
as
indicated
by
this study. Consonant harmony,
the
most common
assimilation effect in LI acquisition, was rare in the English L2
production in Piper s study. Additionally, LI learners commonly
reduce consonant clusters,
but the L2
learners
in
Piper s study
deleted
final
consonants more
often
than they reduced consonant
clusters. Piper alsodid not examinetheeffect the learners LI had on
the
learners production
of
consonants
and
consonant clusters, which
would have
shed
more insight
into
the
different
strategies learners
used in producing English sounds. Piper also found initial evidence of
a developmental stage in L2 phonological acquisition. Some of the
participants
had a
U-shaped curve
of
production, beginning with
imitation with few pronunciation errors, then deviation from the
norm as the learners began acquiring the feature, and finally a period
of resolution where production gradually became more target-like,
which correspond
to findings on
developmental sequences
in
morphology (see Ellis 1994: 77).
Hieke (1987) researched consonant cluster
reduction in
both
native and non-native speech to compare rates of reduction, since
native speakers typically reduce final three-consonant clusters. One
limitation of this study is that it is not clear what the LI backgrounds
of
the
non-native speakers
of
English were,
and
what
the
syllable
position was of the consonant clusters Hieke researched. However,
Hieke found that native speakers reduced clusters approximately
twice as
often
as
non-native speakers.
This
research
not
only
illustrates that consonant deletion
is
variable
for
both native
and
non-native speakers, but also that cluster reduction is not just a
developmental process, but
also
a speech phenomenon that is shared
cross-linguistically.
In summary, one of the main findings in this line of research is that
the LI developmental process ofword-final obstruent devoicing is
also
common
for L2
learners
of
English whose
first
languages
do not
haveword-final
voiced
(or
voiceless) obstruents, such
as
speakers
of
Mandarin Chinese (Flegeand Davidian 1984), and Icelandic (Hecht
and Mulford 1982; MulfordandHecht 1980).
2 1 1 3 nteraction between transferanddevelopmental effects
It has been found that transfer effects interact with developmental
effects
in L2
phonological acquisition (Flege
and
Davidian 1984;
Hancin-Bhatt and Bhatt 1997; Hecht and Mulford 1982;
ajor
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14
ACQUIRING
A
NON-NATIVE PHONOLOGY
1987c; Mulford and Hecht 1980). In hisworkonJapanese native
speakers' production
of
English consonant clusters
and final
conson-
ants.
Major (1987c) found that both transfer and developmental
effects applied todevoicing. Flegeand Davidian (1984)also found
thatbothLI transfer and developmental effects influenced Spanish,
Chinese
and
Polish adult learners' production
of
English word-final
stops
in CVC
words.
LI
transfer
effects
influenced
the
deletion
of
finalstops, whilebothdevelopmental and LI transfer effects were
foundto
affect
learners' devoicingof finalstops. Overall, therewas a
higher frequencyofdevoicing than deletionfor finalstops.
Mulford
and
Hecht (1980)
and
Hecht
and
Mulford (1982)
researched a6-yearoldIcelandic child'sacquisition ofEnglish and
found
that while
LI
transfer
effects
could predict which sounds
may
be
more
difficult to
acquire, developmental
effects
were better
predictors of what substitutions were adopted for L2 production. For
example, the participant devoicedfinalstops, anEnglish LI devel-
opmental
effect
and then strongly aspirated them,which is charac-
teristic
of
stops
in
Icelandic. Hancin-Bhatt
and
Bhatt (1997),
in
their
research
on the
production
of
English onsets
and
codas
in
monosyl-
labicwords by native speakersofJapanese and Spanish, found that LI
transfer had asignificant
effect
on L2 syllable structure production,
affectingboth the error rates and types of errors made. They found
that positive transfer
effects can
override developmental
effects as
evidenced
by
Spanish speakers' production
of
specific
L2
syllable
onsets similartoonsetsintheirLI. In theabsenceofpositive transfer,
however, developmental effects were evidencedtohavean effect on
production.
It has
also been argued that
LI
transfer
is
more prominent
in the
earlystages of acquisition. Leather and James (1991) state that:
it would appearthat,as acquisition proceeds, the influence of the
LI and the
mechanism
of
transfer give
way
gradually
to other
influences that shape developing L2 speech such as the mechan-
isms (i.e. developmental processes ) associated withthe acqui-
sition
of the
mother tongue, (original parenthetical aside, 326)
Major (1987a) developed the Ontogeny Model2 to explain how
developmental
and
transfer
effects
interact
in L2
phonological
acquisition. Transfer
effects
predominate in the early stagesof L2
phonological acquisition, and then gradually decrease, while devel-
opmental
effects
increase
in the
middle stages
of
acquisition,
and
then
gradually
decrease. In terms of phonological similarity of the LI and
the L2,
Major
postulates that
for
similar phenomena, transfer
effects
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INVESTIGATINGL2 PHONOLOGY 15
will
be more common but for phenomena that are dissimilar,
developmental
effects may
play
a
greater role
in
acquisition
and
production.
Major
furtherstates that production indifferent speaking
styles
is
affected
differently
by
transfer
from
the LI and
develop-
mental constraints: as the formality of the style increases, there is a
decrease in errors due to transfer, whereas errors due to develop-
mental effects increaseand then decrease.
Major
(1987a)
tested his
model
by
examining
data from
beginner
and advanced Brazilian Portuguese speakers acquisition of final
consonants across three tasks designed to elicitdifferent styles (in this
case,
different levels of formality). Results indicate a
trend,
which was
not
statistically significant,
of
advanced learners having more
instancesoferrors due to developmental effects and beginner learners
having more instances of errors due to transfer
effects.
Major s claims
regarding stylistic variation also received some support, but again this
support
is
best labelled
as a
trend
as it was not
statistically significant.
Major
(1994) also testedtheOntogeny Model in his study ofnative
Portuguese speaking Brazilians production of English L2 double
consonant onsets
and
codas
in
monosyllabic words over
a
four-week
period.His findings provided some support for the model: transfer
effects decreased over time, and a higher frequency of correct
production was achieved. However, developmental effects remained
stable instead
of
increasing when transfer
effects decreased, and
style
has no effect. As the duration ofthis study wasonly
four
weeks, it is
difficult to
determine whether
the
data
is
truly able
to
show change
between
the effects of
transfer
and
developmental
constraints.
In summary, research (e.g. Flege and Davidian 1984; Hancin-
Bhatt and Bhatt 1997; Hecht and Mulford 1980; Major 1987c;
Mulford and
Hecht
1982) indicates that transfer and developmental
effects may
interact
in L2
acquisition, with
LI
transfer dominant
in
the
early stages
of
acquisition
and
developmental
effects
increasing
as
LI transfer
effects
decrease. Both mayalso
affect
theproduction and
acquisition
of a
single segment;
it has
also been found that while
LI
transfer may
affectwhich sounds
are
difficult developmental effects
may
affectsubstitutions. Finally, it is possible that positive LI transfer
effects m ay override developmental
effects.
2 4
arkedness
Markedness
is a
linguistic concept that
can
roughly
be
defined
as the
tendency for certain linguistic elements to be more frequent in the
world s languages, based onissues such asnaturalness, salienceand
ease
of
articulation
in
terms
of
phonological features.
SLA
researchers
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6
ACQUIRING
A
NON-NATIVE PHONOLOGY
have employed several definitionsof markedness inorder to explain
the
acquisition
of
phonological segments. Researchers have examined
the influence of markedness based on: a) preference for a universal
syllable structure; b)
length
of
margin;
c)
type
of
margin;
d)
length
and
type
of
margin;
and e) the
sonority hierarchy within
a
margin.
Each of thesewillbe examined in turn.
a. A pre ference for a universal syllable structure
Onearea of markedness research is theuniversal preference for a CV
syllablestructure, which is considered to be unmarked in relation to
other syllable structures such as CVC or CVCC, etc. Prior research
(Benson 1988; Osburne 1996; Sato 1984, 1985) on Vietnamese
learnersofEnglish has found that LI transfereffects exerted a greater
influence
on the learners production of English syllable structures
than a preference for an open syllable; that is, codas allowable in
Vietnamese were transferred
into
English, resulting
in a
closed
syllable structure.
b.
Markedness
defined
by
length
Anotherway researchers have employed markedness in SLA research
is to definemarkedness inonsets/codas bylength. Alllanguages have
a core consonant-vowel (CV) syllable structure (James 1988: 5;
Spencer 1996: 82).
CV
syllables
are
thus
the
least marked syllable
structure in languages, with increasing length increasing the marked-
ness of the
syllable structure (Carlisle 1997). Although
the CVC
syllable
does
not
occur
in all of the
world s languages,
it
does occur
frequently
and is
therefore also considered universally unmarked
(Spencer 1996: 82). Additionally, the existence of codas or onsets
witha length of A implies the presence ofcodas/onsets with a length
of
A-l. For example, if a language allowed a syllable with two
consonants in the onset, such as CCV (e.g. the word
tree .,
it would
also have to allow the onset as CC - 1 or as C (as in
tee .
One
exceptiontothis rule is the CV syllable, which does not always imply
the presence of V (Greenberg 1978).
Research
on L2 production has
found
that
learners
modify
longer,
and
thus marked, structures
in
favour
of
shorter, less marked,
structures
by
reducing
the
length
of the
margins (cf. Anderson, 1987;
Broselow
and Finer
1991; Carlisle 1991, 1997, 1998; Eckman 1987,
1991; Hansen 2001; Sato 1984; Weinberger 1987). Weinberger
(1987), in his examination of four Chinese learners of English s
production ofword-final codas,
found
that the number of
modifica-
tions increased as the length of the codas increased.
This
indicates
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INVESTIGATING L2PHONOLOGY 17
that markedness had an effect on the number of modifications.
Anderson s (1987) research
on
word-final consonants
and
consonant
clusters also foundthat speakers of Egyptian Arabic, and Mandarin
and
Amoy Chinese, made significantly more modifications
on
margins based on the length - the more complex the consonant
clusters were, the more modifications were made. All the participants
performed
better
on
unmarked than marked structures. Sato s (1984)
research on Vietnamese learners of English found that participants
reduced two-member onsets
in
favour
of
one-member onsets.
Eckman s (1987) research
on
native speakers
of
Korean, Japanese
and Cantonese s production of two- and three-member word-final
consonant clusters also corroborates both Weinberger s (1987) and
Anderson s (1987) findings that longer codas result in more frequent
modifications, and that longer codas (e.g. two- and three-member
codas), which are relatively marked, are reduced by one consonant in
favour of unmarked codas. Major (1987c) also found that his
Japanese participants produced the English less marked word-final
obstruents more accurately than the more marked consonant clusters,
and the
less marked word-final voiceless obstruents more accurately
than
themore marked voiced
obstruents.
Carlisle (1997) also found
that shorter onsets werenotmodifiedasfrequently asmore marked
onsets.
c .
Markedness defined
by
type
o f
margin
Another area of investigation in terms of markedness is whether
markedness relations between onsets/codas of the same length but
different
constituents have
an
effect
on
acquisition.
As
Greenberg
(1978) states, two-member clusters comprised of two consonants
from
a
similar category,
for
example stop-stop
or
fricative-fricative,
aremore marked inrelationtoconsonants from
different
categories,
such as stop-fricative or fricative-stop, which are considered
unmarked in comparison. The
following
implicational hierarchy
exists: stop + stop (/pt/ as in rapt) implies fricative + stop (/st/fast) and
stop+ fric tive (/ts/ as in hats ) and istherefore more marked; fric tive
+
fric tive
(/fs/
as in h o o f s )
impliesfricative
+
stop
and
stop
+
fric tive
and istherefore more marked; stop-fricative ispreferredinonsets and
fricative-stop in codas (both due to sonority, to be explained below);
word-final
voiced obstruents imply word-medial obstruents, which
in
turn imply word-initial voiced obstruents (see Greenberg, Ferguson
and
Moravcsik 1978), resulting
in the
following order
of
syllable
position acquisition of consonantsfrommost to least marked: final >
medial > initial. In research on native speakers of Vietnamese
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18
ACQUIRINGANON-NATIVE PHONOLOGY
acquiring
English,
Hansen (2004) found
that
learners had lower
accuracyratings across time on more marked stop + stop and fricative
+fricative
clusters, than
on
stop
+
fricative
and
fricative
+
stop codas.
d Markedness defined by length and type o f margin
Research in this area
focuses
on markedness relationships between
clusters
of
different lengths based
on the
elements comprising
the
codas:for example,a markedness relationship doesnotexist between
a three-member and a two-member cluster based on length alone -
the twoelementsof thetwo-member coda must also comprise part of
the
three-member coda.
Thus,
/illwould
be
unmarked
in
relation
to
/ild/ w he rea s A n/ w ould not. H ans en 20 04) exam ined ac qu isition of
codas
by
length
and
type,
and
found that
the
three member codas
learners
had
most
difficulty
with were liquid-fricative-fricative, stop-
fricative-fricative, nasal-fricative-fricative, nasal-stop-stop and stop-
stop-fricative,
all comprising the more marked structures.
Eckman (1991) examined
the
acquisition (defined
as
correct usage
80 per cent of the time) of two- and three-member onsets and codas
by
native speakers
of
Japanese, Cantonese
and
Korean,
as
well
as how
markedness relationships influenced acquisition. Eckman
found
that
for
almostall the cases(98 per cent), if themore marked structure
(e.g. three-member codas) were acquired by the learner, the
subsequent less marked structure (i.e. a related two-member coda)
hadalready been
acquired.
Carlisle
(1998),
like Eckman (1991) and
Eckman and Iverson (1993), also used a criterion measure of 80 per
cent accuracy in production to examine the acquisition of English
syllable
onsets
in a
markedness relationship (based
on
length
of the
onsets)
by
native speakers
of
Spanish.
His
findings support Eckman s
in that in almost all of the cases (90 per cent) the more marked
structure had only been acquired after the corresponding unmarked
structure
had been acquired.
e Markedness defined by sonority
Another definition
of
markedness
is
based
on the
sonority hierarchy
within
an
onset
or
coda. Broselow
and
Finer (1991),
for
example,
examined markedness in terms of sonority by focusing on the distance
between the members of the consonant cluster. Sonority is denned as
the
loudness
and/or resonance of a given segment inrelation to other
segments.
The
researchers posit that clusters closer
in
sonority
are
more marked than clusters wherein consonants have
a
wider sonority
distance.Thesonority hierarchy, from themost sonorousto theleast,
is
as
follows
vowels
>
glides
>
laterals
>
nasals
>
fricatives
>
stops.
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INVESTIGATING
L2
PHONOLOGY
19
Their findings on Japanese and Korean learners of English s word-
initial consonant cluster production supportedtheirhypothesis
as the
participants
in
their study produced less marked onsets more
accurately
than the more marked onsets.
Another approachtosonority isresearchthat examines the
effect
of
the
Universal Canonical Syllable Structure (UCSS)
on the
acquisition
of
L2 onsets and codas. Margins meet UCSS if the sonority of
segments.. .increase[s]
as the
syllable nucleus
is
approached (Herbert
1986: 62). ResearchbyTropf (1987) andCarlisle (1991) has found
that learners less
frequently modify
those margins that conform
to
UCSS.
Hansen
(2004) found
that
the CCC
codas learners
had the
least
difficulty with did not violate UCSS and that the CCC codas
that emerged
first met
UCSS; conversely, codas that
did
violate
UCSS
wereoftenmodified
to
conform
toUCSS via
absence, feature
change(liquid-stop-fricativeandnasal-stop-fricative were changed to
liquid-fricative and nasal-fricative, respectively). Hansen (2001)
found that
for the
native speakers
of
Mandarin Chinese learning
English in this study, 73 per cent of the codas modified violated
UCSS and that all the CCC codas that violated UCSS and were
modifiedwere changed into CC codas
that
met theUCSS.
In summary, research has consistently found that L2 learners
modify marked syllable structures more frequently than they modify
unmarked syllable structures asbased on length (Anderson 1987;
Carlisle
1997, 1998; Eckman 1987, 1991; Eckman and Iverson 1993;
Hancin-Bhatt and Bhatt 1997; Hansen 2001, 2004; Sato 1984;
Weinberger 1987) and sonority (Broselow and Finer 1991;Hansen,
2001, 2004). In addition, longer, and thus more complex syllable
structures aremodified in favour ofshorter, orless marked, syllable
structures
and
acquired after
the
acquisition
of a
related two-member
coda (Carlisle 1998; Eckman 1991; Eckman
and
Iverson 1993;
Hansen 2001; 2004).
2 1 1 5
Linguistic environment
Very few L2
phonology researchers have examined
the effect of
linguistic environment on L2 consonant and consonant cluster
production. However, the research that has been done indicates
that linguistic environment has a significant effect on consonant
production,
and may
interact with other linguistic
factors
such
as LI
transfer Benson (1988),
for
example,
in her
research
on
Vietnamese
speakers production ofEnglish syllable structures, found that the
preceding vocalic contextwas a
factor
in LI transfer processes, for
example,single consonants were
always
deleted
after
diphthongs, and
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20
ACQUIRING
A
NON-NATIVE PHONOLOGY
in Vietnamese, most diphthongs occur only in CV structures.
Weinberger (1987) found that Mandarin speakers modifications
of
English consonants and consonant clusters occurred most frequently
between consonants. Anderson (1987) found that the American
English III
one of the
most commonly deleted consonants
by
speakers
of Mandarin, wasmost commonly deleted post-vocalically in
both
final clusters and in word-medial sequences, while
and /d/
were most often deleted when
in
word-final position
in
consonant
clusters.
Carlisle
(1997) found that linguistic environment influenced
the type of modification of final consonants and consonant clusters
that took place, e.g. epenthesis was found to occur more frequently
after consonantal than vocalic environments. Edge (1991) compared
non-native speakers production of finalobstruents with the produc-
tionofnative speakers since native speakers of English often devoice
finalobstruents before pauses orbeforeavoiceless sound. Portions of
her data revealed similar processes ofvowelepenthesis by both native
speakers
and
Japanese speakers
of
English: after word-final voiced
stops. Carlisle (1994) re-examined Tarone s (1980) data andfound
that over
50 per
cent
of the
instances
of
epenthesis
after
word-final
consonants occurredbefore a pause, 40 per cent before a word-initial
consonant, and less than 5 per cent occurred before a word-initial
vowel. In his
examination
of
-t/d production
by
Chinese learners
of
English, Bayley (1996) found that -t/d was less likely to be deleted
following
a liquid, over a nasal or obstruent. In terms of following
segments, the order of constraints favouring deletion, in higher to
lower rates, are: consonant
>
glide
>
vowel.
Additionally,
grammatical conditioning
may
also
exert
a
significant
effect on syllable coda production. In research on final /ps ts ks/
clusters, Saunders (1987) found that /s/ was morelikelyto be retained
in plural over third-person singular /s/, a finding corroborated by
Abrahamsson (2001). Osburne (1996) found
that
a grammatical
marker in CC and CCC codas was
likely
to be retained, even if the
coda
violated the UCSS; in fact codas that violated the UCSS were
more
likely
to be produced correctly by her participant due to
grammatical conditioning as the last member ofthis type ofcluster
typically is a
morphological marker.
These findings indicate that although the
effect
of linguistic
environment
has not
received
a
great deal
of
attention
in L2
phonological research, findings
from
research in this area can
contribute significantlyto our understanding of why some consonants
and
consonant clusters
are
modified,
and how
they
are
modified.
Therefore, it is an area of L2 phonology that deserves more research.
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INVESTIGATING
L2 PHONOLOGY 21
2 1 1 6 The
acquisition
of
English
phonologyby speakers of
Vietnamese
There have been several previous studies on Vietnamese learners
production of syllable onsets and codas. Sato (1984), in a
longitu-
dinal study of two Vietnamese adolescents, for example, examined
whether closed syllables would
be
preferred
in the
English
inter-
language ofVietnamese learners, basingher hypothesis on the fact
that
77 per
cent
of
Vietnamese syllables (3437
out of
4467)
are
closed. Additionally,
she
hypothesized
that
syllable-initial clusters
would
be produced more correctly than syllable-final clusters as
clusters are not allowed in final position in Vietnamese. Her results
confirmedboth
hypotheses: overall, syllable-initial consonant clusters
were
produced more accurately than syllable-final consonant clusters,
and
there also appeared
to be a
preference
for a CVC
syllable
structure over the CV structure due to LI transfer.The preferred
modification strategy for the production of clusters was cluster
reduction (one member was
omitted),
and
this
modification strategy
wasfavoured over deletion, epenthesis andfeature change, and often
resulted
in a
closed syllable.
In her
study
of
task variation
and final
consonant and consonant cluster production by a Vietnamese learner
ofEnglish, Sato (1985) also found LI transfer affected production
accuracy.
Benson (1988) also examined theuniversal preferencefor an open
syllablestructure
by
Vietnamese speakers.
Her
data
was
elicited from
two
native speakers
of
Vietnamese,
and
confined
to
monosyllabic
words
ending
in
voiceless plosives
and
nasals,
as
these
are the
only
consonants allowed in syllable-final position in Vietnamese. She
found that theuniversal preferencefor an open-syllable structurehad
alesser
effect on
production, while native language influence exerted
a greater
effect For
example, Benson found
that
native language
influence in
terms
of the
effect
of a
previous vowel affected
the
deletion of the final
consonant:
final
consonants were deleted after
diphthongs
and in
Vietnamese, diphthongs only exist
in
open
syllables.Furthermore, Benson questionedSato s (1984) conclusions
that learners reductions
of
clusters
by one
member
is due to LI
transferexclusively, since
it
also
is
evidence
of a
universal preference
for anopen syllable.
Osburne s (1996) research confirmed previous studies,as shealso
foundthat
for her
Vietnamese speaker (there
was
only
one
participant
in
this study), single syllable-final consonants were mostly produced
accurately, but syllable-final consonant clusters were often reduced,
with
fricatives
optionally deleted
due to LI
transfer
effects
(fricatives
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ACQUIRING
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arenot allowed in syllable final position in Vietnamese). Osburne s
research
also
confirms Benson s (1988)
findings
that native language
influences
onsyllable structure production interms of the
effect
of the
preceding diphthong on consonant deletion played a
major
role in
English
syllable
production by speakers of Vietnamese. Osburne
provides
insight into this process
by
explaining that
in
Vietnamese,
a
consonant-diphthong syllable would
be
considered closed, since
the
diphthong isrealized as avowel+ glide, rather than a single segment
asit is in English. Therefore, this syllable isclosed, and anyfollowing
consonants would violate Vietnamese
syllable
structure, and thus be
optimally
deleted. Additionally, Osburne
found
that
for her
subject,
i wasnever realized inEnglish syllable codas. Either the segment
was
absent or it was co-articulated with the vowel, and thus
considered part of the nucleus rather than the terminus. This
indicated that the learner was assigning 111 to the nucleus of the
syllable due to his
perceptions
of the realization of English 111 (as
Osburne states, thereissome speculation that apostvocalic 111should
be considered to be a glide). In fact, when 111 was the initial member
of
a
consonant cluster,
it was not
deleted even though
the
following
consonant was at times deleted since l t wasconsidered part of the
nucleus by the Vietnamese speaker.
Osburne (1996) also provides other evidence of the effect of
linguistic
environment on cluster reduction: clusters were reduced
before
pauses 80 per cent of the time. In addition, sonority was
examined,
and it was found
that clusters that violated
the
sonority
hierarchy were
significantly
less
likely to be
reduced.
This
could
be
due to the
fact
that in English, many final clusters violate the sonority
hierarchy due to
inflectional
endings, and it could be that these types
of
clusters
are
more salient
to the
learners,
and
thus less
likelyto be
reduced. This confirms research by Young (1988) on English tense
markingby native speakers
of
English- redundancy in marking which
make the past tense ending more salient werefound to increase the
likelihoodof the past tense endings being produced. Finally, Osburne
alsofound
that
the final
cluster /ks/, when representing
the
letter
xin
orthography, was not reduced, possibly due to its orthographic
salience.
Overall, the
research
on
Vietnamese learners
of
English indicates
that LI transfer playsa significant role insyllable structure produc-
tion, and that linguistic environment, especially preceding vocalic
environment, plays a great role in consonant deletion, providing
additional evidence
for the
primacy
of LI
transfer
in the
production
of
syllable codas
for
native speakers
of
Vietnamese (cf. Benson 1988;
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INVESTIGATING
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PHONOLOGY
23
Osburne 1996; Sato 1984, 1985). Additionally., salience of past tense
marking
and
orthography
may
also
be a f ctor in
terms
of
which
consonant clusters are typically not reduced (Osburne 1996).
2 2 ocial
barriers
The discussion of social barriers in L2 acquisition, and specific llythe
acquisition
of an L2
phonology, starts with
a
discussion
of
social
identity.
Gender,as one
aspect
of
identity,
isthen
addressed.
The
social contextof LI and L2use,in the
form
ofextentofusageof the
LI and the L2, is
then
explored. Finally,
ffective
variables, namely
attitudes, motivation and investment, are explored.
2.1.2.1 ocial identity
Social identity
is
comprised
of different
components such
as
appearance, ethnicity, group memberships, language, culture, etc.
that play
out in different
ways
in different
contexts with
different
interlocutors. Language is one medium through which we express our
social
identity,
but
identity construction
is not
unidirectional
- our
interlocutor(s) must recognize
our
constructed identity (our language
markers) as social identity must be constructed in relation to other
individuals. Lum (1982) states it concisely: 'identity is a social
process in which one balances what s/he thinks oneself to be and what
others believe thatone has to be...' (386).
Language
and
identity
are
extricably intertwined. Giles
and
Byrne
(1982) state that 'Accent servesas apow erfulsymbolofethnicityand
'psychological distinctiveness' (as quoted by Leather and James
1991: 310). In
fact,
linguistic behavior is 'a series of
acts
ofidentity
in
which people reveal both their personal identity
and
their search
for
social
roles' (LePage
and
Tabouret-Keller 1985: 14).Theseacts
can
be both conscious and unconscious, and resisting specific language
featuresis asimportantinmarking one's social identityas is the use of
specific linguistic features, e.g. phonological markers, within one's
linguistic
repertoire.
As
Pennington (1994) states,
'A
pronunciation
of
a
certain sound that signals membership
in a
certain group
is
termed a
phonological marker
of identity in that group' (author's
emphasis, 103). Research
in
both
LI and L2 use
have shown
us
that
'Speakers adopt various linguistic markers
to
identifythemselves with
particular sociocultural groups' (Leather
and
James, 1991: 310).
In a
summary ofresearch on L2 social markingsviaphonology, Dowd,
Zuengler and Berkowitz (1990) state that social markings can occur
at any age
group
and
level
of L2
acquisition, despite
a
limited
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ACQUIRING
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repertoire. Additionally, several sounds marking the same social
factor
may
sift
in
different directions;
a
given sound, marking several
social
factors, may
shift
in
different
directions (Dowd, Zuengler and
Berkowitz
1990: 22).
One area of SLA inwhich weneed agreater awareness ofsocial
identity is learners acquisition (or lack thereof) and use of specific
phonological features. Many SLA researchers and teachers compare
learners language to the standard variety, assuming both that
learners are aiming at the standard astheir target language and that
any deviations from
the
standard variety
on the
part
of the
learner
are errors. Beebe (1985), however, suggests that learners choices
of target language variety depend on the social context, and that
there are certain input preferences for language learning, for
example
peers over parents
and
teachers, in-group over out-group,
friends over non-friends, high-contact over low-contact groups, and
higher-prestige
over lower-prestige groups, and that learners decide
whether togive precedence to solidarity (for example for the peer
group,) or prestige (teachers /parents variety). However, as Hieke
(1987) states, the systematic variation of spoken English
from
ideal
forms (i.e., underlying representations) has not usually been
considered
in IL
phonology studies,
nor
have
the
wide range
of
variations attributable to dialect within so-called Standard English
(391).
Edge (1991), in her studyofCantonese speakers production of
English obstruents states that the reason why some Cantonese
learners exhibit non-target variantsintheir obstruent production may
be
because they
are
targeting
a
nativized variety
of
English, namely
Hong Kong English, which exhibits these variants, and therefore
analysingthis data forinterlanguage (IL) rules andprocessesis, as she
states,
a
questionably valid procedure (391).
She
further states that,
for
many phonetic features, nativized varieties and
other
non-
standard Englishes
offer
different targets than those
of
what
has
been
calledStandard English (391).
Similarly, Hecht and Mulford (1982), in their research on an
Icelandic child s acquisitionofEnglish
fricatives
and
affricates,
found
that
the
learner s tendency
to
devoice
final /z/ was
partially affected
by
the
variety
of
English
he was
learning
from his
peers. Other
L2
patterns in the learner s speech were also found to be influenced by
the
typical Boston pronunciations
the
learner would have been
exposedto through school peers.
Retention of certain LI features and use of particular L2
variants may
also
be conscious choices of the L2 learners in order
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INVESTIGATINGL2PHONOLOGY 25
to signal their identity. Gatbonton (1975) for example, found that
the
production
of
interdental
fric tives by
French-Canadian learn-
ers of
English varied based
on the
learners self-identification
as
either nationalistic
and
pro-French
or
non-nationalistic
and
pro-
English,
with
the
latter employing greater English
L2
dental
fricative usage.
The
learners level
of
integration
and
acculturation into
the L2
culture may also ffect the degree towhich certain L2 variants are
produced,
as Lybeck (2002) found in her research on the acquisition
ofNorwegian byAmerican women living in Norway. The women
who
had the densest L2 social networks and were the most integrated
into the L2 community had the greatest use of the Norwegian /r/;
conversely,
the
women
who had
little contact with Norwegians
and
had a
strong American identity
had a
greater
use of
American
than
Norwegian /r/.
2.1.2.2
ender
Social
identity is
lso
tightly connected with gender and gender
identity. Gender can be denned as social practice (Ehrlich, 1997),
and be
located within
a
social, historical
and
cultural space that
is
dynamic across time and space. In this view, gender is a system of
culturally constructed relations of power, produced and reproduced
ininteraction between and among men and women (Gal 1991: 176).
One strand of research in this area has focused on how gender
constrains the level of access L2 learners have to linguistic resources,
with the m jority of the studies examining how women are denied
access
to linguistic resources, both at school and at
work
(cf.
Blackledge
2001; Gumming
and
Gill 1992; Ehrlich 2001; Goldstein
1995, 2001; Kouritzen 2000; Losey 1995; Teutsch-Dwyer 2001).
Findings indicate
that
both
the first
language (LI)
and L2
community
may
constrain the language development of immigrant women. In
many cases, women
may be
denied access
to
English
as a
second
language
(ESL) classes or workplaces where the L2 could be
practiced due to LI cultural norms (cf. Gumming and Gill 1992;
Goldstein 1995, 2001; Kouritzen 2000). Additionally, when they
do
attend the courses, they may not get as much attention in the
classroom as men (Losey 1995).
While research
has
begun focusing
on
owthese actions, activities,
and behaviours areencouraged differently for women andmen, and
the
resulting access
to L2 use and
development opportunities, there
has been little research to date (cf. Teutsch-Dwyer 2001),
that
directly
examines the impact of the
differenti l
access to L2 use and
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26 ACQUIRINGANON-NATIVE PHONOLOGY
development opportunities
on the
cquisition
of an L2
although recent
research in the acquisition of an L2 phonology has begun suggesting
that thedegreeofaccent in the L2 may beinfluencedbyextentof LI
use- the greaterthe LI use, thegreaterthe degreeofforeign accent
cf. Flege, Frieda
and
Nozawa 1997; Piske, MacKay
and
Flege
2001).
Learners
may also resist
acquiring,
and
using,
specific linguistic
formsbecause
it
conflictswith their
LI
identities, particularly gender
roles
in the LI
culture
and the L2
culture.
This is
important
for SLA
researchers andteachersto understand because
students lack
of use
of
certain
forms
may not
always
indicate
a
lack
of
acquisition
of (or
ability to
acquire) these forms,
but
rather acts
of
resistance
to the
identity the learners perceive the
forms
portray. As Pennington
(1994)
states:
.. .the identity signaledby a certain accent sometimes serves as a
psychosocial constraint pressuringthenormativenot to speakin a
nativelike way in order to avoid any identification with native
speakers - including symbolic identification with their symbolic
values. (103)
This
phenomenon is
well
illustrated by research on the learning of
Japanese
by Western women. One such study is Siegal s (1996) study
ofwhite women, all native speakers of English, studying Japanese in
Japan. Although this is focusing on syntax, the study provides
interestingexamples
of the
strategies several white women adopt
in
resisting
the L2
identity
the
Japanese language imposed upon
them,
and how these women create a new L2 identity for themselves by
adopting aspects of both men s and women s speech. The three
womenreported
on in
this study avoided
the use of
certain linguistic
features associated with women s language in Japanese, such as
honorifics (used by men as well, but to a lesser extent), and women s
sentential-final pragmatic particles, preferring instead
to
develop
an
L2 linguistic identity by combining elements of both men s and
women s speech rather than
the
invisible
and
passive identity they
associated with Japanese women s language.Forexample,one of the
women s language styles
was
marked with
the
overuse
of the
plain
form,which is associated with men s speech. She also avoided the use
ofhonorific languageandused thepolite statement I
think
inplace
of honorifics. Another woman also avoided the use of honorifics,
instead
using
the
modal auxiliary desho
tosoftenher
utterances
in a
more feminine manner.
A
third woman,
who
inaccurately believed
that sentential-final particles functioned only in women s language.
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INVESTIGATING L2 PHONOLOGY 27
avoided usingpragmatic particles altogether.
All
threewomen were
conscious
of
their language choices,
but
avoided using 'correct'
Japanese formsin situations when they knew theyshould,because it
conflicted withtheirLI identity.
Ohara's (2001) work
on the
acquisition
of
intonation
by
American
women learning Japanese also illustrates how learners may resist
using certain L2 featuresifthey perceive it conflicts with their LI
identity, in
this
case, also a gender-based identity. In Japanese,
femininity
is expressed by women through the use of a high-pitched
voiceand '..
.the
use of a
high pitched voice
is an
important
way of
performing
or
doing
gender' (234). Ohara examined
to
what extent
beginner learners
of
Japanese, Japanese (LI)
-
English (L2)
bilinguals, andEnglish (LI) - Japanese (L2) bilinguals were aware
of these norms and willing to employ them to perform Japanese
gender.
She
foundthatwhile
the
beginner learnerswere unaware
of
the
norms, theJapanese (LI)-English (L2) bilinguals were awareof
the norms and employed them to perform gender. However, the
English (LI) -Japanese(L2) bilinguals were awareof thenormsbut
several
(2 out of 5) ofthem were unwilling to employa high pitch
because they perceived 'that the voice pitch levels they employed
correlated neatly with their attitude toward
the
kinds
of
images
typically associated with Japanese women' (Ohara 2001: 242)and an
identity they
did not
accept.
Finally, gender has also been linked to the variety targeted.
Adamson
and
Regan (1991) investigated
the
acquisition
of
commu-
nityspeech normsbyVietnameseandCambodian immigrantsto the
US. The
researchers examined
the
participants'
use of the
phono-
logical variable'ing', specifically focusing on two variants, /irj/and
/in/, hypothesizing that greater use of/in/, the non-prestige variant
and
a
variant
not
present
in the
participants'
LI
phonology (versus
/ i r j /, w h i c h i s p r e s e n t , w o u l d in d i c a t e a g r e a t e r i n t e g r a t in g o f
participants
into
their respective speech communities. The partici-
pants were all
from
either Philadelphia or Washington DC, where /in/
functioned as a
non-prestige variant
of
'-ing'.
The
researchersfound
menused
/in/ more frequently
than
women,
a pattern that was similar to that found for native speakers in these
particular
contexts. Theresearchers state that these findings suggest
thattheparticipants aretargeting differentgroupsofspeakers, i.e.the
non-native women
are
targeting
the
language
of
nati