Perception and Production of French Nasal Vowel Contrasts by English- and Spanish-Speaking L2 Learners
Abstract (English) This study investigates the acquisition of French nasal vowels among 10 English-speaking and 10 Spanish-speaking L2 learners. Specifically, the study examines how L2 learners maintain these categories separate acoustically in their speech production and whether their ability to...
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| Language: | deu |
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Prof Thomas Tinnefeld
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching |
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| Online Access: | https://linguisticsandlanguageteaching.blogspot.com/2019/12/blog-post_34.html |
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| author | Vincent Chanethom Patrick-André Mather |
| author_facet | Vincent Chanethom Patrick-André Mather |
| author_sort | Vincent Chanethom |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract (English)
This study investigates the acquisition of French nasal vowels among 10 English-speaking and 10 Spanish-speaking L2 learners. Specifically, the study examines how L2 learners maintain these categories separate acoustically in their speech production and whether their ability to perceive such contrasts influences their acoustic implementation. Participants were asked to complete a language proficiency test, a production task where participants were asked to read words containing the three French nasal vowels, and a perception task where they were asked to discriminate between pairs of words. Results revealed significant differences between the two language groups, mainly with respect to the /ɑ̃/ - /õ/ contrast. While L2 Spanish speakers showed no particular difficulty with that contrast, their English-speaking counterparts displayed lower accuracy rates in distinguishing /ɑ̃/ from /õ/ and implemented significantly smaller acoustic distances between the two categories. These empirical findings suggest that, for the study of French nasal vowels, foreign language instructors should design separate pronunciation activities for English native-speaking students, with more emphasis on the /ɑ̃/ - /õ/ pair than the other contrasts.
Abstract (Français)
Cet article étudie l’acquisition des voyelles nasales du français par 10 locuteurs natifs de l’anglais et 10 locuteurs natifs de l’espagnol. L’étude examine en particulier la manière dont les apprenants maintiennent ces catégories vocaliques séparées dans leur production orale et, le cas échéant, l’influence de leur capacité perceptive sur l’implémentation acoustique de ces contrastes. Les participants à cette étude ont complété une série de tâches expérimentales, dont un test de niveau en langue française, un test de production orale pour lire des mots illustrant les voyelles nasales du français, et un test de perception orale pour distinguer des paires de mots. Les résultats de l’analyse indiquent des différences significatives entre les deux groupes de locuteurs natifs, surtout par rapport au contraste /ɑ̃/ - /õ/. Le groupe d’apprenants hispanophones n’a pas montré de difficultés particulières dans la production ou perception de ce contraste. En revanche, les apprenants anglophones ont affiché un taux d’exactitude relativement faible pour la distinction entre /ɑ̃/ et /õ/. De plus, les résultats indiquent aussi que les apprenants anglophones appliquaient une plus petite distance acoustique entre les deux catégories que les apprenants hispanophones. Ces données empiriques suggèrent que pour l’étude des voyelles nasales du français, les enseignants de français langue étrangère doivent développer des activités pédagogiques en prononciation tenant compte des spécificités des apprenants anglophones, en insistant sur le contraste /ɑ̃/ - /õ/.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-52d3df9f7bf7444a8b879ac1d823f2a6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2190-4677 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | Prof Thomas Tinnefeld |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching |
| spelling | doaj-art-52d3df9f7bf7444a8b879ac1d823f2a62025-01-05T13:31:10ZdeuProf Thomas TinnefeldJournal of Linguistics and Language Teaching2190-46772019-12-01102207228Perception and Production of French Nasal Vowel Contrasts by English- and Spanish-Speaking L2 LearnersVincent Chanethom0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4423-9879 Patrick-André Mather 1George Mason University, USAUniversidad de Puerto Rico, Río PiedrasAbstract (English) This study investigates the acquisition of French nasal vowels among 10 English-speaking and 10 Spanish-speaking L2 learners. Specifically, the study examines how L2 learners maintain these categories separate acoustically in their speech production and whether their ability to perceive such contrasts influences their acoustic implementation. Participants were asked to complete a language proficiency test, a production task where participants were asked to read words containing the three French nasal vowels, and a perception task where they were asked to discriminate between pairs of words. Results revealed significant differences between the two language groups, mainly with respect to the /ɑ̃/ - /õ/ contrast. While L2 Spanish speakers showed no particular difficulty with that contrast, their English-speaking counterparts displayed lower accuracy rates in distinguishing /ɑ̃/ from /õ/ and implemented significantly smaller acoustic distances between the two categories. These empirical findings suggest that, for the study of French nasal vowels, foreign language instructors should design separate pronunciation activities for English native-speaking students, with more emphasis on the /ɑ̃/ - /õ/ pair than the other contrasts. Abstract (Français) Cet article étudie l’acquisition des voyelles nasales du français par 10 locuteurs natifs de l’anglais et 10 locuteurs natifs de l’espagnol. L’étude examine en particulier la manière dont les apprenants maintiennent ces catégories vocaliques séparées dans leur production orale et, le cas échéant, l’influence de leur capacité perceptive sur l’implémentation acoustique de ces contrastes. Les participants à cette étude ont complété une série de tâches expérimentales, dont un test de niveau en langue française, un test de production orale pour lire des mots illustrant les voyelles nasales du français, et un test de perception orale pour distinguer des paires de mots. Les résultats de l’analyse indiquent des différences significatives entre les deux groupes de locuteurs natifs, surtout par rapport au contraste /ɑ̃/ - /õ/. Le groupe d’apprenants hispanophones n’a pas montré de difficultés particulières dans la production ou perception de ce contraste. En revanche, les apprenants anglophones ont affiché un taux d’exactitude relativement faible pour la distinction entre /ɑ̃/ et /õ/. De plus, les résultats indiquent aussi que les apprenants anglophones appliquaient une plus petite distance acoustique entre les deux catégories que les apprenants hispanophones. Ces données empiriques suggèrent que pour l’étude des voyelles nasales du français, les enseignants de français langue étrangère doivent développer des activités pédagogiques en prononciation tenant compte des spécificités des apprenants anglophones, en insistant sur le contraste /ɑ̃/ - /õ/. https://linguisticsandlanguageteaching.blogspot.com/2019/12/blog-post_34.htmlfrench nasal vowelsproduction-perceptionphonetic acquisitionvoyelles nasales du françaisacquisition phonétique |
| spellingShingle | Vincent Chanethom Patrick-André Mather Perception and Production of French Nasal Vowel Contrasts by English- and Spanish-Speaking L2 Learners Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching french nasal vowels production-perception phonetic acquisition voyelles nasales du français acquisition phonétique |
| title | Perception and Production of French Nasal Vowel Contrasts by English- and Spanish-Speaking L2 Learners |
| title_full | Perception and Production of French Nasal Vowel Contrasts by English- and Spanish-Speaking L2 Learners |
| title_fullStr | Perception and Production of French Nasal Vowel Contrasts by English- and Spanish-Speaking L2 Learners |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perception and Production of French Nasal Vowel Contrasts by English- and Spanish-Speaking L2 Learners |
| title_short | Perception and Production of French Nasal Vowel Contrasts by English- and Spanish-Speaking L2 Learners |
| title_sort | perception and production of french nasal vowel contrasts by english and spanish speaking l2 learners |
| topic | french nasal vowels production-perception phonetic acquisition voyelles nasales du français acquisition phonétique |
| url | https://linguisticsandlanguageteaching.blogspot.com/2019/12/blog-post_34.html |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vincentchanethom perceptionandproductionoffrenchnasalvowelcontrastsbyenglishandspanishspeakingl2learners AT patrickandremather perceptionandproductionoffrenchnasalvowelcontrastsbyenglishandspanishspeakingl2learners |