Cross-linguistic Phonological Transfer:

The perception and acquisition of non-native tense and lax vowel contrasts have been the subject of extensive research (Bustos et al., 2023; Chang, 2023; Fabra & Romero, 2012; Lai, 2010). Previous studies have highlighted various factors influencing the perception of these contrasts, such as li...

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Main Authors: Jahurul Islam, Md. Sayeed Anwar, Shahriar Mohammad Kamal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: ULAB Press 2024-12-01
Series:Crossings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.ulab.edu.bd/index.php/crossings/article/view/521
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author Jahurul Islam
Md. Sayeed Anwar
Shahriar Mohammad Kamal
author_facet Jahurul Islam
Md. Sayeed Anwar
Shahriar Mohammad Kamal
author_sort Jahurul Islam
collection DOAJ
description The perception and acquisition of non-native tense and lax vowel contrasts have been the subject of extensive research (Bustos et al., 2023; Chang, 2023; Fabra & Romero, 2012; Lai, 2010). Previous studies have highlighted various factors influencing the perception of these contrasts, such as linguistic background, exposure to the target language, and individual phonetic training (Casillas, 2015; Souza et al., 2017; Chang & Weng, 2012). However, there has been limited investigation into whether speakers can transfer discrimination abilities from the vowel contrasts in their first language (L1) to novel contrasts in a second language (L2) that differ in specific phonetic features. Focusing on this inquiry, the present research examines whether native speakers of Bangla, a language with tense/lax contrasts limited to mid vowels, can extrapolate this ability to discriminate tense/lax contrasts among high vowels in English, a language with tense/lax contrasts among both mid and high vowels. Through a forced-choice identification task involving English minimal pairs, data were collected from 43 adult Bangla speakers who had learned L2 English. Contrary to expectations, results indicated that these speakers were unable to effectively distinguish between tense and lax high vowels in English, suggesting that the presence of a similar contrast in L1 does not necessarily facilitate the acquisition of comparable distinctions in L2 across different vowel groups. Implications of the results for non-native vowel acquisition and the pedagogy of English language teaching to Bangla speakers are discussed.
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spelling doaj-art-ab1bff0f27ac4eb39ca511d947ae528d2025-01-09T13:34:59ZengULAB PressCrossings2071-11072958-31792024-12-0115110.59817/cjes.v15i1.521Cross-linguistic Phonological Transfer: Jahurul Islam0Md. Sayeed Anwar1Shahriar Mohammad Kamal2University of British ColumbiaRajshahi University of Engineering & TechnologyConcordia University The perception and acquisition of non-native tense and lax vowel contrasts have been the subject of extensive research (Bustos et al., 2023; Chang, 2023; Fabra & Romero, 2012; Lai, 2010). Previous studies have highlighted various factors influencing the perception of these contrasts, such as linguistic background, exposure to the target language, and individual phonetic training (Casillas, 2015; Souza et al., 2017; Chang & Weng, 2012). However, there has been limited investigation into whether speakers can transfer discrimination abilities from the vowel contrasts in their first language (L1) to novel contrasts in a second language (L2) that differ in specific phonetic features. Focusing on this inquiry, the present research examines whether native speakers of Bangla, a language with tense/lax contrasts limited to mid vowels, can extrapolate this ability to discriminate tense/lax contrasts among high vowels in English, a language with tense/lax contrasts among both mid and high vowels. Through a forced-choice identification task involving English minimal pairs, data were collected from 43 adult Bangla speakers who had learned L2 English. Contrary to expectations, results indicated that these speakers were unable to effectively distinguish between tense and lax high vowels in English, suggesting that the presence of a similar contrast in L1 does not necessarily facilitate the acquisition of comparable distinctions in L2 across different vowel groups. Implications of the results for non-native vowel acquisition and the pedagogy of English language teaching to Bangla speakers are discussed. https://journals.ulab.edu.bd/index.php/crossings/article/view/521L2 perceptionL2 acquisitionTense-laxVowel perception
spellingShingle Jahurul Islam
Md. Sayeed Anwar
Shahriar Mohammad Kamal
Cross-linguistic Phonological Transfer:
Crossings
L2 perception
L2 acquisition
Tense-lax
Vowel perception
title Cross-linguistic Phonological Transfer:
title_full Cross-linguistic Phonological Transfer:
title_fullStr Cross-linguistic Phonological Transfer:
title_full_unstemmed Cross-linguistic Phonological Transfer:
title_short Cross-linguistic Phonological Transfer:
title_sort cross linguistic phonological transfer
topic L2 perception
L2 acquisition
Tense-lax
Vowel perception
url https://journals.ulab.edu.bd/index.php/crossings/article/view/521
work_keys_str_mv AT jahurulislam crosslinguisticphonologicaltransfer
AT mdsayeedanwar crosslinguisticphonologicaltransfer
AT shahriarmohammadkamal crosslinguisticphonologicaltransfer