Applied English Phonology: Yavaş/Applied English Phonology
... Language acquisition is essential for communication and pronunciation is perhaps the most important component. Achieving pronunciation proficiency is often challenging for learners and may impact their overall fluency and comprehension (Derwing & Mazzone, 2015;Yavas, 2011). Historically, pronunciation has been taught through the practice of repetition and through explicit instruction, both of which we now know are only part of the pedagogical puzzle. ...
... Reskilling targets learners with wrong pronunciation, but upskilling is more about refining the advanced knowledge found in comprehensive language studies. Exploration of these processes seeks to improve learning and acquisition as well as aid learners' self-confidence and motivation (Yavas, 2011). ...
... Due to the significant contribution of pronunciation to the ability of learners to produce as well as comprehend speech sounds and rhythms of a new language, pronunciation teaching targeted at all language learners is a necessity. In fact, deliberate pronunciation practice leads to improved pronunciation, phonemic awareness, and, ultimately, to higher levels of learner motivation, confidence, and fluency (Derwing & Munro, 2015;Celce-Murcia et al., 2010;Yavas, 2011). Pronunciation, which is one of the most important factors for successful communication, building of competency, and language learning success, must not be overlooked. ...
... By comparing the target system with the learner's L1, differences and similarities in the organization of the respective vowel systems can be illustrated, potential learning problems can be identified, and instructions can be given informing the learner how to modify their native vowel category so as to articu-late a more authentic vowel in L2 (e.g., [3]). ...
... As predicted, we found a strong match between the perceptual representation of the AE vowels and the acoustic properties in their production, both for the L1 and for L2 participants at the group level. 3 The present study was not set up to shed light on the question whether perception leads production or vice versa. This would have required following the participants longitudinally. ...
... No results for the tokens of hawed are given in [18,19] but the formant and duration values for the hawed tokens were included in the underlying dataset. 3 Correlation of production and perceptual representation was considerably poorer at the level of individual speakers (for details and statistical tests, see [14]) ...
To establish their perceptual representation of the American English (AE) vowels, 40 adolescent Palestinian-Arabic (3 long + 3 short vowels) learners of English as a foreign language and 20 American native controls identified each of 86 artificially generated vowel sounds (in /mVf/ nonsense items) as one of the 11 simplex vowels of AE (forced choice). F1 was varied in 7 steps of 1 Bark, F2 in 9 steps (20 impossible F1-F2 combinations were excluded). Vowel durations were either 200 or 300 ms. Results reveal large deviation of vowel centroids in the L2 responses (from L1 control centroids), and much greater overlap of spreading ellipses. The effect of duration was stronger in L2 than in L1 responses. The perceptual representations matched the locations of the AE vowels in the acoustic vowel diagram based on the same learners' production data, suggesting a close link between vowel perception and production.
... By comparing the target system with the learner's L1, differences and similarities in the organization of the respective vowel systems can be illustrated, potential learning problems can be identified, and instructions can be given informing the learner how to modify their native vowel category so as to articu-late a more authentic vowel in L2 (e.g., [3]). ...
... As predicted, we found a strong match between the perceptual representation of the AE vowels and the acoustic properties in their production, both for the L1 and for L2 participants at the group level. 3 The present study was not set up to shed light on the question whether perception leads production or vice versa. This would have required following the participants longitudinally. ...
... No results for the tokens of hawed are given in [18,19] but the formant and duration values for the hawed tokens were included in the underlying dataset. 3 Correlation of production and perceptual representation was considerably poorer at the level of individual speakers (for details and statistical tests, see [14]) ...
To establish their perceptual representation of the American English (AE) vowels, 40 adolescent Palestinian-Arabic (3 long + 3 short vowels) learners of English as a foreign language and 20 American native controls identified each of 86 artificially generated vowel sounds (in /mVf/ nonsense items) as one of the 11 simplex vowels of AE (forced choice). F1 was varied in 7 steps of 1 Bark, F2 in 9 steps (20 impossible F1-F2 combinations were excluded). Vowel durations were either 200 or 300 ms. Results reveal large deviation of vowel centroids in the L2 responses (from L1 control centroids), and much greater overlap of spreading ellipses. The effect of duration was stronger in L2 than in L1 responses. The perceptual representations matched the locations of the AE vowels in the acoustic vowel diagram based on the same learners' production data, suggesting a close link between vowel perception and production.
... all other vowels are unrounded. Table 2.5 below provides a detailed description of the AE monophthongs according to the three basic parameters of vowel quality while providing other symbols used interchangeably to replace certain IPA symbols and exemplifying words for each vowel (based on Ladefoged & Maddieson, 1996;Maddieson, 1984;Yavaş, 2011;Wells, 1982). vs lax (short) vowels (Chomsky & Halle, 1968: 324;Labov et al., 2006: 14;Zsiga, 2013: 60) as a phonemic parameter for the vowel inventory. ...
... The hierarchy of sound sonority is discussed differently by scholars, but the differences are uncontroversial in essence in terms of ordering and only vary in the details of manifesting the hierarchy. Hogg and McCully (1987), as cited in Yavaş (2011), presented a 10-point sonority scale, as shown in Table 2.9 below, where 10 means most sonorant. At the syllable level, the sonority principle presents explanations of the similar norms of consonant sequencing structure across different languages. ...
... Accordingly, he depicted possible confusions that Arabic L1 learners can fall victim to when acquiring AE. The frequently attested lack of contrast (i.e., homophony) between Arabic and AE, according to Yavaş (2011), is observed in the following groups of AE vowels: AE /i, ɪ/ (e.g., heed-hid) are expected to be a rendition of Arabic /i/, /ɪ, e, ɛ/ (e.g., hid-hayed-head) are expected to be a rendition of Arabic /i/ vowel, /ɛ, ae, ʌ, ɑ/ (as in head-had-hud-hod) are expected to be a rendition of Arabic /a/, and finally, high back vowels /u, ʊ/ (as in who'd-hood) are confused for Arabic /u/. 25 These target contrasts are claimed to be overlooked by Arabic L1 learners. Additionally, vowels such as /o/ and /ɔ/ are not classified at all, neither as not problematic at all nor outside the possible rendition of L1 ...
This dissertation addresses the perception and production of American English monophthongs by Palestinian Arabic (PA) learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). It aims to identify (and predict) areas of difficulty in the perception and production of these sounds of American English (AE) within a framework of the most influential L2 perception and production theories and models and their most recent versions so that teaching (materials) can address these rather than spend time on sounds that do not constitute a problem. By devising three separate yet interrelated studies, PA learners’ perception and production of AE as EFL was explored and compared with similar data collected from native AE participants (van Heuven et al., 2020; Wang & Van Heuven, 2006).
The first study investigated PA learners’ perceptual assimilation of AE vowels. The study examined how the eleven AE monophthongs (Ladefoged, 1999: 41) map onto the six vowels of PA (Thelwall & Sa'adeddin, l999: 52). The Perceptual Assimilation Model (PAM) predicts learning problems when two L2 phonemes are perceived as equally good tokens of a Single Category in the L1 (SC scenario) (Best, 1995). SC contrasts will yield an incorrect perceptual representation of the AE vowel system in the mind of the (beginning) PA EFL learner, with insufficient spectral or temporal separation of categories (compared to native AE listeners). Forty (20 male and 20 female), adolescent PA high-school learners of EFL listened to the monophthongs of AE (four tokens of each, in different random orders per participant) spoken in /hVd/ words, and classified these as one of the six PA vowels /i, i:, a, a:, u, u:/ while rating them on a 5-point goodness scale. Seven SC contrasts were identified in the results, i.e., heed-hayed /i:-e:/, hid-head /ɪ-ɛ/, hud-hood /ʌ-ʊ/, hod-hawed /ɑ:-ɔ:/, hawed-hoed /ɔ:-o:/, hawed-who’d /ɔ:-u:/, and hoed-who’d /o:-u:/. Moreover, a Category Goodness (CG, intermediate difficulty predicted) problem was identified for the had-hod /æ:-ɑ:/ contrast. Contrasts that rely on a difference in vowel length did not cause any problems. The results of this study showed that there is a general confusion in mapping AE vowels within the same length category if they are spectrally close (i.e., have similar vowel quality). A comparison was made for the PA EFL results with results from similar studies on other L1 Arabic varieties’ perception of AE and revealed conformity between PA perception of AE vowels and the other studies’ results in the sense that the L1 Arabic perception of AE is not exclusively differentiated based on duration but also includes spectral differences between long and short counterparts. The results of the comparison also showed differences in relation to which AE vowels were the most confused ones. Finally, the results of the first study provided predictions and hypotheses for the second study concerning the mental representation of the AE vowel space in the minds of PA learners.
In the second study, the same 40 PA participants listened to and identified 86 artificial vowel sounds (7 degrees of height, 9 degrees of backness/rounding, and 2 lengths) sampled with perceptually equal steps along the F1 and F2 dimensions of the vowel space, excluding 20 impossible combinations (Van Heuven et al. 2020), in /mVf/ nonwords with vowel durations of 200 or 300 ms. Listeners identified each token as one of the eleven AE monophthongs while rating them on a 3-point goodness scale. The experiment was repeated with a control group of 20 (10 male and 10 female) native AE listeners. This study aimed to reveal the differences in the mental representation of the vowel space between native AE listeners and nonnative PA learners of AE. The main objective of this study was to determine whether nonnative listeners perceive the AE vowel space the same way as native AE listeners do and, if not, what their perceptual representation looks like in terms of vowel quality as determined by formant structure, duration, and the relative importance (trading relationship) between quality and duration. The results show that the PA learners’ conception of the AE vowel system is incorrect in several important respects. The PA participants’ perceptual representation of the AE vowels differed from the native AE norm and was strongly influenced by the vowel system of PA. Vowel duration proved a much more important characteristic for PA listeners than for AE controls, as EFL learners relied almost exclusively on vowel duration to differentiate spectrally adjacent vowels (in feel-fill or fool-full), while native listeners of AE relied on vowel quality rather than length (confirming Hillenbrand et al., 2000). Additionally, the EFL learners accepted monophthongal /e:/ and /o:/ (as in sale and whole), which were rejected by the native listeners because of insufficient diphthongization. The vowels in fill-tell were not differentiated, and most mid-low vowel sounds were incorrectly identified as /ʌ/ (as in null). This study concluded that these confusions require serious attention at the pedagogical level, as they will most likely lead to pronunciation errors. The argument is that the structure of the PA vowel system, with its three-point vowels /i, a, u/ and a phonemic length contrast (short, long), is the underlying cause of the flawed perceptual representation of the AE vowels, which, in turn, is hypothesized to cause deviations from the AE norms in the PA participants’ speech production.
Based on the predictions of the previous two studies, the third study aimed to assess PA learners’ production of AE monophthongs through a qualitative and quantitative analysis to provide a comprehensive description of AE vowels produced by PA learners. The study measured the articulation of the 11 monophthongs of AE in /hVd/ words (e.g., heed, hid, head, had, …) by the 40 PA learners of EFL and compared their results with results of 20 (10 male and 10 female) native AE university students for the same test (Wang & Van Heuven, 2006). In general, the results of this chapter show a clear carry-over of Arabic phonetic spectral attributes. The learners’ results showed a great deal of overlap in producing AE new vowels. Only vowels with unique counterparts (i.e., AE high front/back long /i/, /æ/, and /u/) between the two vowel inventories showed a distinct distribution from their spectrally adjacent competitors. All other AE vowels were confused in three vowel clusters in a partially overlapping manner. Vowel durations of the L2 and L1 speakers proved strongly correlated but were (much) shorter in L2 than in L1. To conclude this study, the nonnative PA production results show confused alignment of the L2 AE vowel system, especially for the new AE vowels.
The learner’s L1 affects the production of EFL vowels in general, yielding a foreign accent that diverges from the native English norms and resembles EFL learners’ L1 more. Therefore, the PA results in the production study were compared with those found in the literature for EFL learners with Arabic L1 backgrounds other than PA, both spectrally and temporally, to inspect whether their different L1 Arabic varieties affect their production of AE differently. The results show both differences and similarities between the speakers of what is often considered one shared L1, i.e., Arabic. Among the similarities are the overall shrinking of the AE L2 vowel space (relative to L1 control data in Wang & Van Heuven, 2006) and the systematic overshortening of all vowel durations. The remaining differences in the spectral organization of the nonnative vowel spaces can be attributed to differences in the L1 varieties. Depending on how the differences in the AE vowels impact the nonnatives’ intelligibility, this dissertation provided some pedagogical implications and recommendations for EFL curriculum developers, teachers, and learners that require different tailer-cut remedies for each regional variety of Arabic.
... Besides voicing quality, they also differ in terms of muscular strength. Yavas (2011) brings the lenis (voiced) and fortis (voiceless) definition, where fortis consonants are uttered with more muscular effort, more pressure, and more air usage, than their lenis counterparts. Together with these definitions, the author also mentions the length of the preceding vowel as being influenced by voicing. ...
... On the other hand, Giegerich (1992) mentions that native speakers tend to recur only to the partial devoicing of /z/ at word-final position, making it a natural process of the language. Likewise, Yavas (2011) adds that /z/ is only fully voiced when in an intervocalic position, that is, when surrounded by vowels. Similarly, Smith (1997) discovered that participants, who were all NSE, had a different degree of devoicing variation, being it more common before voiceless contexts, and when the speaker did not put much effort in the production. ...
This article reports on a study which investigates whether the devoicing of word-final /z/ by Brazilian speakers of English hinders their intelligibility when heard by other Brazilians, as well as by native speakers of English. In order to investigate this issue, a questionnaire and an intelligibility assessment test were designed for collecting data from both the speaker and listener groups. The group of speakers consisted of 39 Brazilian Portuguese speakers of English as an additional language from the undergraduate and graduate Letras Inglês courses, mainly at UFSC, plus a native speaker of English. The listeners, in turn, were split into three groups: a) 26 students and ex-students from the English Graduation Program at UFSC (PPGI); b) 21 students from the English extracurricular course at UFSC, and c) 21 native speakers of English. The results suggest that the devoicing of word-final /z/ caused misunderstandings in the three groups of listeners, hindering communication. This unintelligibility was more frequent for the BP listeners.
... These phonotactics differ from one does each syllable have. For example, onset clusters in English can consist of one to three consonants and one to four Volume 23,Issue 01, 2024 consonants can occur in coda clusters: (C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C)(C), where parentheses indicate optional constituents (Revell, 2011;Yavaş, 2011). However, in BahdiniKurdish, a subdialect of northern Kurmanji(henceforth BK),one to three consonants are permitted to occur in onset clusters and one to two in coda clusters: (C)(C)(C)V(C)(C) (Ali& Abdullah, 2019). ...
... As forthree-initial CCs, Revell (2011: 121) demonstrates that this pattern comprisesa preinitial /s/ followed by one of voiceless plosives /p, t, k/ as initials which in turn can be followed Volume 23,Issue 01, 2024 by one of the approximants /l, w, r, j/ as post-initials (Roach, 2009;Yavaş, 2011) as in 'spring' /sprɪŋ/, 'stew' /stju:/, 'square' /skweǝ/. The possible occurrence of triple onsets can be shown in Table 2. (from Hewings, 2007). ...
... Our analysis of the American English vowel system is based on e.g., Celce-Murcia et al. (2010), Yavaş (2011) andTyler et al. (2014). The system comprises three diphthongs /ai, au, ɔi/ (as in find, found, boy), and eleven monophthongs. ...
... The monophthongs are split into a group of seven long vowels /i, e, ae, ɑ, ɔ, , o, u/ (as in seed, aid, add, odd, awed, ode, rude), and a smaller group of four short vowels, /ɪ, ε, ʌ, ʊ/ (as in kid, bed, bud, hood). The long vowels are articulated at the outer perimeter of the vowel space, and are often referred to as 'tense', while the short vowels are rather more centralized and often called 'lax' (e.g., House, 1961;Strange et al. 2004;Wang & Van Heuven, 2006;Celce-Murcia et al., 2010;Yavaş, 2011). The high-mid tense vowels /e/ and /o/ are semi-diphthongs in most varieties of English, including American English. ...
Abstract
According to the Perceptual Assimilation Model (PAM), learning problems in second language (L2) acquisition are predicted when two L2 phonemes are perceived as good tokens of a single category (SC) in the learner's native language (L1). In this research, 40 participants (20 male) Palestinian Arabic (PA) high-school listeners determined which of the 6 vowels of PA /i, i:, a, a:, u, u:/ was the closest match for each of the 11 pure vowels of American English (AE) /i, ɪ, e, ɛ, ae, ɑ, ʌ, ɔ, o, ʊ, u/ presented to them in monosyllabic /hVd/ words, and then rated their goodness on a 5-point scale. The results revealed that the listeners focused on the duration of the vowel rather than on vowel quality to distinguish between spectrally adjacent AE vowels. Seven potentially problematic SC contrasts were identified: /i-e/, /ɪ-ɛ/, /ʌ-ʊ/, /ɑ-ɔ/, /ɔ-o/, /ɔ-u/, and /o-u/. A Category Goodness (CG, intermediate learning difficulty predicted) contrast was identified for the /ae-ɑ/ pair. AE long vowels were always assimilated to PA long vowels, while AE short vowels were mapped onto PA short vowels, so that all long-short vowel pairs were part of a Two Category (TC) assimilation scenario, for which excellent discrimination and no learning problem is predicted.
... 182). Interdental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/ also differ from stops from spectrographic analysis since the production of plosives involves a silence which is represented by a blank portion, followed by a burst which is marked by a sudden and massive concentration of energy in the sound spectrum (Ladefoged, 2001;Yavaş, 2011;Brozbǎ, 2012). ...
... Interdental fricatives have always betrayed the majority of ESL/EFL speakers as they replace them with sounds which are relatively similar and more familiar to them. Many studies have revealed that /θ/ is generally substituted by /t/ while /ð/ is produced as /d/ (Wells, 1986;O'Connor, 1998;Cruttenden, 2008;Hattem, 2009;Hanulíková & Weber, 2010;Yavaş, 2011;Owolabi, 2012;Jekiel, 2012;Firdaws et al. 2020;Brigg, 2021). These studies proved that this substitution is neither a recent phenomenon nor is it specific to a given geographical location because it is even found in English L1 contexts like British English. ...
This study investigates the production of /θ/ and /ð/ at initial, medial and final positions by Cameroonian ESL (CamESL) students using the acoustic analysis method. The words theme, something, mouth, them, without and with were put on a list and read by 26 undergraduate CamESL learners from the University of Maroua. Their productions were recorded and analysed using PRAAT version 6.3.11 of 17 July 2023. The analysis revealed that at initial and medial positions, the majority of learners were able to accurately render the sounds while at the final position, both /θ/ and /ð/ were systematically substituted with /f/ and the unreleased stops /t ̚/ and /d ̚ /. It was also discovered that the choice of substituting phonemes depends on the linguistic environment sounds since unreleased stops never occurred at initial and medial word positions, and the normal stops /t/ and /d/ also rarely occurred at the final position. It can be concluded that success and deviation in the production of interdental fricatives by CamESL learners depend on the location of the sound.
... A heavy syllable will typically contain a long vowel (monophthong or diphthong) or a combination of a short vowel and a single consonant. A Light syllable has a short simple vowel as its nucleus (Zec 2011 ferences in the stress patterns of the two languages which prove to be sources of difficulty (Yavaş 2011). Even though the domain of stress assignment is primarily the word in both systems, the actual locus of main stress is fixed: in Polish it is the last but one syllable in the default cases. ...
... "Such mismatches are especially dangerous in the case of cognates. Learners may (and indeed do) fall into the 'same/similar form and meaning' trap between the two languages" (Yavaş 2011). It is not to do with the fact that cognate tokens emerge more frequently than the non-cognate ones. ...
The paper discusses the emergence of L1-induced word-stress patterns in the spoken production of Polish advanced speakers of English. In Polish, unlike in English, a great deal of word-stress predictability is attested, and the paper investigates whether this affects the actual production. The investigations are couched within the broad area of contact linguistics and are analysed in the usage-based cognitive phonological approach. A possible lack of exemplar connections to standard English forms is postulated here, so that EFL speakers develop patterns where the connections are being made to their native exemplars. The Frequency in a Favourable Context criterion is used here to estimate effects of use pattern that are distinct in the investigated languages. The data were obtained in a series of production tasks in a test-like format, by students in the English Department at PUK in Kraków. The results were analysed to the effect that they demonstrated a high level of L1 influence bordering possibly on innovation and propagation of new pattern of use, with cognate forms demonstrating the more rigid adherence to L1 stress locus.
... We target at the entrainment of fundamental frequency (f0), and formant frequencies (F1, F2). F0 refers to the vibration of vocal folds (Yavas, 2011). The perceptual correlate of f0 is pitch, which reveals signals of sound identity and information about meaning (McPherson and McDermott, 2018). ...
... By examining mean f0 and f0 range, we can understand more about their adjustment of pitch during interaction. Formant frequencies relates to vocal tract configuration, reflecting the tongue position when the speaker articulates the vowels (Yavas, 2011). The investigation of first and second vowel formant improves our understanding about vowel space area manipulation during conversations (Pettinato et al., 2016). ...
Phonetic entrainment is a phenomenon in which people adjust their phonetic features to approach those of their conversation partner. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been reported to show some deficits in entrainment during their interactions with human interlocutors, though deficits in terms of significant differences from typically developing (TD) controls were not always registered. One reason related to the inconsistencies of whether deficits are detected or not in autistic individuals is that the conversation partner’s speech could hardly be controlled, and both the participants and the partners might be adjusting their phonetic features. The variabilities in the speech of conversation partners and various social traits exhibited might make the phonetic entrainment (if any) of the participants less detectable. In this study, we attempted to reduce the variability of the interlocutors by employing a social robot and having it do a goal-directed conversation task with children with and without ASD. Fourteen autistic children and 12 TD children participated the current study in their second language English. Results showed that autistic children showed comparable vowel formants and mean fundamental frequency (f0) entrainment as their TD peers, but they did not entrain their f0 range as the TD group did. These findings suggest that autistic children were capable of exhibiting phonetic entrainment behaviors similar to TD children in vowel formants and f0, particularly in a less complex situation where the speech features and social traits of the interlocutor were controlled. Furthermore, the utilization of a social robot may have increased the interest of these children in phonetic entrainment. On the other hand, entrainment of f0 range was more challenging for these autistic children even in a more controlled situation. This study demonstrates the viability and potential of using human-robot interactions as a novel method to evaluate abilities and deficits in phonetic entrainment in autistic children.
... Listening comprehension becomes even more challenging when learners have to deal with background noise or competing sounds, which can make it hard to pick out individual words or phrases. This difficulty is amplified when they are not accustomed to native-speaker speeds or accents (Yavas, 2021). Some strategies are address to overcome these difficulties such as incorporate explicit training that focuses on phoneme discrimination through listening exercises, minimal pairs, and phonemic drills to improve sound recognition and production. ...
This study analyzes the difficulties faced by EFL students in learning English phonology and phonetics at the English Department of Victory University of Sorong. The research involved 46 participants from the 5th and 7th semesters who had completed the English phonology and phonetics course. The findings reveal that students encounter significant challenges due to various factors, including interference from their first language (L1), inconsistencies in English spelling and pronunciation, and limited exposure to authentic speech and diverse accents. Additionally, cognitive constraints such as processing limitations and insufficient phonological working memory further hinder their ability to apply phonological theory in real-world communication. The lack of focused phonological training in the curriculum, combined with psychological barriers like pronunciation anxiety, also contributes to the students’ struggles. These findings highlight the need for enhanced phonological instruction, increased exposure to varied spoken English, and strategies to build student confidence, which are essential for overcoming the difficulties in mastering English phonology and phonetics.
... LP and rounding have been reported in the past during production of /S/, a phenomenon often known as labialization [16,22]. For example, "the alveolar sibilants tend to have a slightly spread lip shape, whereas the prepalatal sibilants tend to have a slightly protruded or rounded lip shape" [16]. ...
... The Wedel model incorporates usage-based experimental and theoretical contributions from various fields and is able to account for how usage drives development, propagation, and consolidation of phonological patterns over time. Experimental Leah Gilner (2023) 5 results reported by Norris and colleagues, which indicate that phonetic retuning (i.e., categorization of novel input) is ongoing and occurs after very little exposure, reinforce the validity of the Wedel model (McQueen et al., 1999, 2006Norris, 2003). Taken together, these perspectives support the observation that: "Because this categorization is ongoing during language use, even adult grammars are not fixed but have the potential to change as experience changes" (The Five Graces Group et al., 2009, p. 7). ...
The investigation presented herein draws on established analytical resources to describe English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) phonology in light of the sound patterns that emerge from large collections of actual language use.
... Phonology is one of the important fields in linguistics which studies the sound system of language [1]. Understanding the basics of phonology is very important in the analysis and understanding of how sounds make up complex language systems [2]. Although this field is often associated with in-depth research and complex analysis, a basic understanding of phonology can be accessed simply and makes a significant contribution to understanding language structure. ...
Phonology is a branch of linguistics that studies the sound system of language. Although it is a complex field, a basic understanding of phonology can help individuals understand and analyze simple language sounds. This abstract aims to present a brief description of the basics of phonology and the importance of understanding phonological principles in linguistic studies. We explore basic concepts such as phonemes, allophones, and phonological rules in forming the sound system of a language. In this abstract, we also underscore the importance of phonology in language teaching and learning. Phonological understanding can help language learners recognize and distinguish similar sounds with different meanings. Through an emphasis on a simplistic approach, this abstract provides a basic understanding that could be used as a foundation for those interested in studying phonology without engaging in complex empirical research. This research was based on a comprehensive literature review of the foundations of phonology. This approach does not involve empirical research or the collection of new primary data but gathers information from relevant secondary sources such as textbooks, academic journals, online articles, and other trusted sources.
... To this extent, Hosseinzadeh et al (2014) submit that assimilation is defined as segmental feature replication; that is, certain phonemes duplicate feature specifications from adjacent segments. Mehmet (2011) explains that "several components help in defining this process: the sound that changes to become like the other sound, called the conditioned sound and the sound that creates the change, the conditioning sound" (p.101). Assimilation types maybe partial or total; contact or distant; regressive or progressive; total or partial (See McCarthy & Smith 2003, Bussmann 1998, Crystal 2008, Laver 1968, Roach 1991.' ...
... Finally, geminates and their singleton counterparts are contrastive, whereas ambisyllabic and non-ambisyllabic consonants are not. On this account, McCully (2009), Yavas (2011) and Lee and Seo (2019) illustrated the temporal length of an ambisyllabic segment utilizing the skeletal-slot model. A comparison between geminate and ambisyllabic consonants through skeletal X-slot representation is presented in (19) The word-part identification task, replicated from a prior study by Elzinga and Eddington (2014), aimed to examine whether participants at lower English proficiency levels more strongly rely on orthographies for syllabification than those at higher levels. ...
This research investigates how orthographies, stress, and consonantal manners influence syllabification and
acoustic durations of intervocalic consonants by Thai L2 English speakers, who were classified into three CEFR
English proficiency levels: A1, A2 and B1 and participated in two tasks. The first task aims to examine syllabification,
known as a word-part identification task, wherein the participants were instructed to identify the first part of a word
in one question item and the second part of the same word in another. The findings reveal dynamic changes in
syllabification preferences as L2 proficiency increases. The initial stages of acquisition display a strong reliance on
orthographic forms for syllabification. An increase in proficiency is associated with a growing awareness of the
interaction of stress with syllabification but a declining reliance on orthography. The second task aims to investigate
the production, referred to as a read-aloud task where the participants were asked to read aloud target words in
carrier sentences. The durations of intervocalic consonants were analyzed using Praat software (Boersma &
Weenink, 2021) based on waveforms and spectrograms. The results indicate that participants at all levels produced
intervocalic consonants orthographically represented as geminates significantly longer in duration than those
represented as singletons. The durational ratio of orthographic singletons to geminates is overall greater for
intervocalic consonants in pre-stress positions than for those in post-stress positions. This ratio steadily decreases
from A1 to native English speakers. The findings from both tasks consistently show that higher English proficiency
correlates with native-like syllabification and acoustic duration.
Keywords: orthographies; stress; consonantal manners; syllabification
... This inability is ordinarily due to incorrect placement, timing, direction, pressure, speed, or integration of articulatory structures. 5 Phonemic disorders are categorized into three subtypes depending on aetiology including structural anomalies in the areas essential for speech sound production like tongue and alveolar ridge resulting in faulty or imperfect utterances; neurological abnormalities with restricted fine motor movements of oral musculature and unknown or developmental causes. Phonological processes are also considered in phonological disorders. ...
Objective: The objective was to highlight and review different therapeutic approaches to cater to speech sound disorders in Pakistan. Methodology: To find the different therapeutic approaches, a literature search for related articles/ publications was conducted using the Keywords “speech sound disorders, phonological disorders, articulation disorder and a combination of words using search engines like Google & and databases like PubMed and other websites. Around 130 publications, reports, and articles were downloaded, of which 25 were used for literature review. Results: There are many treatments used to cater for speech sound disorders including contextual utilisation, phonological contrast, complexity, core vocabulary, cycles phonological pattern, distinctive feature therapy, metaphor therapy, naturalist speech intelligibility, non-speech oral-motor therapy, speech sound perception training and bilingual or cross-lingual approach. However, novel trends like the use of hybrid treatment, speech motor learning- phonetic placement approach, blocked practice versus serial practice schedule & interventions using biofeedback need to be utilized. Conclusion: Treatment approaches in use include contextual utilisation, phonological contrast, complexity, core vocabulary, cycles phonological pattern, distinctive feature therapy, metaphor therapy, naturalist speech intelligibility, non-speech oral-motor therapy, speech sound perception training and bilingual or cross-lingual approach, however, novel treatments need to be utilised. Keywords: Articulation disorders, Phonological disorders, Phonological Representations
... According to them, for both L1 and L2 "mastering a new cluster or a new word position for a familiar sound may require as much work as mastering a new sound" (p. 49).According toYavas (2011), in the case of English, the nucleusrepresented as V (i.e. vowel)can be composed by single vowels or diphthongs. ...
ENGLISH ABSTRACT
With the aim of going beyond standard accents of second language (L2) textbooks, this study presents a Layered Model for L2-accent learning. A wide review of literature was conducted combining knowledge from several fields, such as second language learning, Speech-language pathology, anthropology as well as theories in first and second language acquisition and singing pedagogy. The resulting model was then developed and is composed of nine layers. Each layer refers to isolated elements of the accent's aesthetic that can be worked separately during L2-accent learning. The first three layers refer to vocal aspects of accents, which includes vocal tract setting, voice tone and vocal biomechanical articulation. Layers number four, five and six refer to how to connect the vocal abilities from the previous layers into language, which involves practice of speech sounds, consonant clusters and words in general. Layer number seven explores the relations between sounds and letters while layer number eight focuses on adjustments in connected speech, the latter includes the phonological processes. Finally, the ninth layer refers to the skill of breaking down accents into layers in order to enable the learner to develop a panoramic perspective of accents' aesthetic features to learn other accents as well. In order to demonstrate how to apply the Layered Model, English was established as the target L2. Thus, possible segments, clusters and phonological processes present in English were organized into three training-stages, each divided into two minor groups, totaling six groups altogether. Each group displays the English phonetics and phonological elements into smaller feasible components with the aim to guide the L2-accent learning throughout the Layered Model. Different from traditional textbooks, the Layered Model has non-standard accents as the ultimate goal in L2-accent learning.
RESUMO EM PORTUGUÊS
Com o objetivo de ir além dos sotaques padrões dos livros didáticos de segunda língua (L2), este estudo apresenta um Modelo em Camadas para a o estudo de sotaques em L2. Foi realizada uma ampla revisão da literatura, combinando conhecimentos de diversas áreas, como aprendizagem de segunda língua, fonoaudiologia, antropologia, assim como teorias em aquisição de primeira e segunda língua e pedagogia vocal para o canto. O modelo resultante foi, então, desenvolvido e é composto por nove camadas. Cada camada refere-se a elementos isolados da estética dos sotaques que podem ser trabalhados separadamente durante a aprendizagem de sotaques em L2. As três primeiras camadas referem-se a aspectos vocais dos sotaques, que incluem configuração do trato vocal, tom da voz e biomecânica articulatória vocal. As camadas quatro, cinco e seis referem-se a como conectar as habilidades vocais das camadas anteriores à linguagem, o que envolve a prática de sons da fala, agrupamentos de consoantes e palavras em geral. A camada sete explora as relações entre sons e letras, enquanto a camada oito foca em ajustes na fala encadeada, que inclui os processos fonológicos. A última camada, a nona, refere-se à habilidade de decompor sotaques em camadas, para permitir ao estudante desenvolver uma perspectiva panorâmica das características estéticas dos sotaques, bem como para aprender outros sotaques. Para demonstrar como aplicar o Modelo em Camadas, o inglês foi estabelecido como o L2 alvo. Assim, segmentos, encontros consonantais e processos fonológicos possíveis do inglês foram organizados em três estágios de treinamento, cada um dividido em dois grupos menores, totalizando seis grupos ao todo. Cada grupo dispõe os elementos fonéticos e fonológicos do inglês em componentes menores palpáveis com o objetivo de orientar a aprendizagem do sotaque em L2 ao longo do Modelo em Camadas. Diferente dos livros didáticos tradicionais, o Modelo em Camadas tem como objetivo final sotaques não padronizados na aprendizagem de L2.
... A investigação da glossolalia em NieR:Automata é realizada por meio de uma transcrição fonêmica. A transcrição fonêmica diferencia-se da transcrição fonética no sentido de que enquanto a primeira se refere à transcrição de palavras apenas como sequência de fonemas, a segunda inclui detalhes alofônicos, ou seja, variações de um mesmo fonema[Hayes 2009].No contexto desse artigo, foi optado por uma transcrição fonêmica por duas razões: 1 -o nível mais abrangente da transcrição fonêmica já abarca as sonoridades vocais de maneira satisfatória para o escopo desse artigo; 2 -por se tratar da transcrição da letra de uma música cantada em um idioma fictício, as variações alofônicas foram consideradas recursos expressivos do canto, e portanto são especificamente endereçadas quando se mostrarem relevantes ao longo do estudo.Apesar de ser um idioma fictício, inexistente no mundo real, o método de transcrição é baseado nos fonemas identificados no Alfabeto Fonético Internacional (AFI), já que, ainda que o idioma em si não exista, os fonemas são gerais e estão amplamente documentados[Abercrombie 1967;Ladefoged 2003;Hayes 2009;Maddieson 1984;Ladefoged e Johnson 2011;Hayward 2014;Cucchiarini 1993;Shibatani 1990;Yavas 2011;Reetz 2009]. Porém, o método não tem como objetivo extrair uma gramática, buscar fonemas de idiomas específicos, ou sugerir em quais idiomas reais esses fonemas podem ter sido baseados, mas apenas identificá-los, a fim de trazer à luz, de maneira mais objetiva, as sonoridades analisadas posteriormente a fim de compreender como são utilizadas na construção do arquétipo vocal da Criança.É realizada uma transcrição simples[Abercrombie 1965], ou seja, utilizando apenas caracteres do alfabeto latino[Laver 1994]. ...
Glossolalia refere-se ao ato de simular estar falando em idioma desconhecido, porém sem significado semântico real por trás dos fonemas. O objetivo deste artigo é investigar o uso da glossolalia na melodia de uma trilha musical do game NieR:Automata em busca de identificar motivações para o uso desse elemento no game. Ao final do artigo, é proposta a hipótese, a partir do embasamento teórico em David Huron e James A. Russell, entre outros autores, que o uso da glossolalia pode ter sido motivado pela evocação do arquétipo vocal (união da ideia de arquétipo de Carl Jung com persona vocal de Philip Tagg) da Criança que seu uso traz, além de ativar o mecanismo de “valoração contrastiva”, conforme definido por David Huron, no jogador, amplificando as emoções causadas pelo uso da glossolalia no contexto do game.
... However, the complexities of compound patterns and abbreviations are beyond the scope of this paper. See Celce-Murcia, Brinton and Goodwin (2010) and Yavaş (2011) for references and basic patterns. ...
Nuclear stress (or sentence stress) as a prosodic feature marks information flow in spoken English, and has received some treatment in the linguistics literature, most notably in pragmatics, but less so in newer phonological paradigms. Current theories in linguistics might shed light on this feature, such as Optimality Theory (OT) and cognitive grammar (CG). This paper compares potential insights and likely predictions of these two approaches for nuclear stress, by examining a recorded conversation of native US English speakers. The descriptive statistics indicate stress pattern distributions as expected, and some stress tokens show particular pragmatic and discourse functions of nuclear stress. The OT framework can better explain the interaction of different levels of prosody, grammar, and information structure, while CG might offer a more holistic explanation of stress, and its sociopragmatic and discourse functions, and may thus be likely more applicable to discourse studies, applied linguistics, and pedagogy. Implications are discussed for a CG theory of prosodic phonology, and for L2 pedagogy.
... Here, again, the tutor needs to help, relying on the following issues this time. Generally speaking, while the [s] is a so-called sibilant, producing high-pitched and loud noise as a result of the airflow hitting the teeth, the [θ] is not a sibilant and characterized by a noise that is lower-pitched and less intense (Zsiga, 2013, see also, e.g., Beňuš, 2021Yavas, 2016). This difference is visible in Figs. ...
The spring of COVID-19 forced teachers to restructure learning materials, content delivery, and learning environment, this leading to utilizing innovative course designs, high-tech learning tools, and engaging web-based learning environments. This shift affects, on the one hand, the perceptions of teachers and learners, and on the other hand, instructional practices, resulting in learned lessons and future envisions about the feasibility of utilizing the web in the context of English language education. In this introductory chapter, we present the background of this special collection on online English language teaching and learning, provide a summary of the expanding corpus of research on online English language education, and introduce the studies published in the collection. This collection of chapters covers the perspectives, implications, challenges, and opportunities of digital transformation in English language education prompted by the increasing accessibility of technology and the COVID-19 pandemic.
... Here, again, the tutor needs to help, relying on the following issues this time. Generally speaking, while the [s] is a so-called sibilant, producing high-pitched and loud noise as a result of the airflow hitting the teeth, the [θ] is not a sibilant and characterized by a noise that is lower-pitched and less intense (Zsiga, 2013, see also, e.g., Beňuš, 2021Yavas, 2016). This difference is visible in Figs. ...
This book focuses on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and provides advice on how to approach EFL teaching in the online context. Coronavirus has accelerated e-learning significantly and has highlighted the need of appropriate web tools that will allow teachers to present their material either synchronously or asynchronously, while also adequately assess their students. At the same time, there is a need of tools that can engage the students and motivate them to actively participate in the lesson.
With e-learning being a rather new challenge for both teachers and students, this book provides research- and practice-based chapters with strategies, techniques, approaches, and methods which have proven to be successful in e-learning environments, maximizing their impact. Apart from presenting research results with strong pedagogical implications on online or blended English language learning and teaching, the book also trains educators on utilizing online tools and managing online learning environments and platforms.
... Here, again, the tutor needs to help, relying on the following issues this time. Generally speaking, while the [s] is a so-called sibilant, producing high-pitched and loud noise as a result of the airflow hitting the teeth, the [θ] is not a sibilant and characterized by a noise that is lower-pitched and less intense (Zsiga, 2013, see also, e.g., Beňuš, 2021Yavas, 2016). This difference is visible in Figs. ...
Online assessment practices have been affected by various factors ranging from teachers’ technological competence to devices and tools offered and made available both to teachers and students. The current study aimed at exploring challenges and issues experienced by language lecturers in Turkish tertiary contexts during their transition to online/distance learning and teaching. The participants of the study included seventy-five language lecturers at the School of Foreign Languages and the Department of Foreign Language Education at various state universities in Turkey. The study used quantitative data provided by the participants’ responses to the online survey which included several short-answer questions regarding how they assessed students during the pandemic. The survey was created through Google Forms and shared with the participants via emails and social networking sites. The major results of the study indicated that a great majority of the participants did not have any power in the selection of the assessment types as the university senates determined the main assessment to be assignments or projects. The results also showed that academic integrity and grading were other concerns during the online assessment, in addition to technical problems, limitations, and devices available to lecturers and students.KeywordsEnglish as a foreign languageOnlineAssessmentTestingChallengesOpportunities
... Here, again, the tutor needs to help, relying on the following issues this time. Generally speaking, while the [s] is a so-called sibilant, producing high-pitched and loud noise as a result of the airflow hitting the teeth, the [θ] is not a sibilant and characterized by a noise that is lower-pitched and less intense (Zsiga, 2013, see also, e.g., Beňuš, 2021Yavas, 2016). This difference is visible in Figs. ...
This chapter takes a snapshot of the current situation in terms of secondary school English teachers’ capacity to engage in teaching remotely, as has been necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic, in three distinct locations within Asia – India, Malaysia, and Taiwan. In addition, taking account of the potential effects of COVID-19, it seeks to uncover any mismatch between teachers’ theoretical understandings of what remote teaching of English language classes involves and what has been happening in practice. It is based upon a small-scale qualitative study that used questionnaire data from English teachers working in secondary schools in different locations and interview data from academics working in the field of English language teacher education in each location. Through the data, the study revisits how teachers’ capacity to teach remotely is modelled as well as making recommendations in terms of supporting and training teachers to deliver classes remotely and the need to pay attention to both teacher and student wellbeing in order to make remote teaching sustainable.KeywordsEnglish language teachingemergency remote teachingTPACKteacher support and trainingstaff and student wellbeing
... Unlike Balinese language, English is one of the language whose pronunciation is different from its writing system. One English sound could be represented by a combination of phoneme as in the word "book" /bʊk/ or one single phoneme could be represented more than one sound like the phoneme /y/ represents both consonant and vowel sounds as in the words "you" /juː/ and "by" /baɪ/ (Yavas, 2020). In addition, there are several consonants and vowels which do not exist in Balinese language. ...
This phonological analysis investigated the production of English consonant sounds produced by Balinese EFL students’ who speak an idiosyncratic native language as the main phenomena and examined the phonological rules represented descriptively and qualitatively. The data were gathered through digital recording and were observed by identifying the English pronunciation through note taking technique. This study was supported by the theories regarding phonological rules proposed by Odden (2013) and Hayes (2008). The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary was used as a standard form of American pronunciation to compare the sounds produced by the students. The result of the study shows that the phonological errors represented in two ways of phonological rules: assimilation and deletion. First, assimilation occurred in the three positions of the word in three different sounds: [z], [ð] and [?]. Second, final deletion of specific phoneme /k/ and the deletion of aspirated allophones of the phoneme /p/. This study provides a significant contribution that there are several common phonological errors of English consonant sounds encountered by Balinese EFL students.Keywords: English consonants, phonological process, phonological rule, pronunciationAbstrak. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis produksi bunyi konsonan bahasa Inggris yang diproduksi oleh mahasiswa EFL Bali yang memiliki bahasa ibu yang idiosinkratik sebagai fenomena utama dan menentukan aturan fonologis secara deskriptif dan kualitatif. Data dikumpulkan melalui rekaman digital dan diamati dengan mengidentifikasi pengucapan melalui teknik pencatatan. Teori kaidah fonologis yang dikemukakan oleh Odden (2013) dan Hayes (2008) digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Selain itu, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary digunakan dalam mengidentifikasi standar pengucapan bahasa Inggris untuk membandingkan dengan pengucapan siswa. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pengucapan Bahasa Inggris oleh siswa dapat direpresentasikan dalam dua kaidah fonologis. Pertama, proses asimilasi terjadi pada tiga posisi kata dalam tiga bunyi berbeda: [z], [ð] dan [?]. Kedua, penghapusan fonem akhir tertentu yakni fonem /k/ dan penghapusan alofon fonem /p/. Penelitian ini memberikan kontribusi yang signifikan bahwa terdapat beberapa kesalahan fonologis yang umum terjadi pada bunyi konsonan bahasa Inggris yang ditemui oleh mahasiswa EFL Bali.Kata kunci: bunyi konsonan bahasa Inggris, kaidah fonologis, pelafalan, proses fonologis
... The consonant phoneme inventory can be validated by demonstrating the contrast which occurs between phonetically similar segments in minimal pairs. The only way to establish a minimal pair, with reference to the two sounds involved, is to place them in the same condition in terms of word position and the adjacent context (Yavas 2011). In the case of [p] ~ [t], a perfect, minimal pair does not exist; thus, a near minimal pair was utilized to show contrast. ...
This study aimed to sketch the grammar of the Southern Sinama language, particularly that of the Simunul variety. The language is spoken in the island municipality of Simunul in Tawi-Tawi, Philippines, by some 34,000 people. This study employed a qualitative research method utilizing the descriptive design. Drawn from the elicited data, the description sketches the language in three different levels: phonology, morphology, and syntax. In the language phonology, significant features include 24 phonemes: 17 consonants and seven vowels; no consonant cluster occurs within syllable; word-initially, [m], [n], and [l] can occur as phonetically lengthened to the extent that they form a geminate cluster; and the replacement of segment is evident through nasal fusion. In language morphology, noted features comprise affixes which interrelate with other structures of the language, such as aspect, mood, and the voice system of the verbs, which in consequence, affects the meaning of the utterance. In terms of syntax, Southern Sinama is a head marking language with VSO word order whose clause structures encompass one to three arguments (i.e. actor, object, and benefactor).
... I have taught applied phonetics for over twenty years and never have adopted a reference textbook. The options available were either too theory-based (Yavas, 2005) or too focused in the clinical applications (Ryalls & Behrens, 2000). Other pronunciation teaching manuals are based on British English as the target accent (Collins et al., 2019;Gómez González & Sánchez Roura, 2016;Mott, 2005), which would have confused my students since my undergraduate courses are based on American English pronunciation. ...
... Choi (2016) states that syllable structures of languages are one of the significant examples of cross-linguistic differences. This idea is based on the concept that the transfer occurring between L1 and L2 has been one of the most important issues for linguists, and has been regarded as the major source of difficulties for L2 learners (Yavas, 2005). Choi (2016) argues that two or more consonants occurring at the onset of a syllable simply do not exist in Korean, but English allows two or three consonants at the beginning of syllables, which has created a true obstacle for Korean learners when learning English. ...
Pronunciation plays a significant role in English teaching and learning around the world and this particular field has received much attention from several scholars. The study was conducted to investigate common mistakes made by Vietnamese university learners while pronouncing English consonant clusters. This is a quantitative study with the participation of 39 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. To collect data for the study, a pronunciation test was employed. The results show that the common mistakes made by the learners varied, depending on the types of consonant clusters. Specifically, clusters containing voiceless plosives led to the highest mispronunciation. There was also a tendency to simplify the complex clusters of three-consonant by deleting the first, second consonant, or in some cases, both. Accordingly, this study suggests pedagogical implications for teachers and learners in similar contexts in Vietnam in acquiring the pronunciation of English.
... Flapping occurs in many phonological environments to different degrees primarily in American English (Yavaʂ 2011). Word medial /t,d/ are realized as flaps at 99% when preceded by a stressed vowel and followed by an unstressed vowel (e.g., fatty, city, butter, ladder, etc.) whereas word final /t,d/ become a flap in the same environment only at 19% (e.g., at all, eat up, etc.). ...
Yun, Gwanhi. 2022. A mismatch in completeness between acoustic and perceptual neutralization in English flapping. Korean Journal of English Language and Linguistics 22, 1133-1158. This study attempts to reveal the acoustical characteristics of flapped /t/s and /d/s as well as phonetic correlates of word-final /t,d/ contrast and to examine whether English native listeners distinguish a flapped /t/ and /d/ by using the durations of pre-flap vowels. For these purposes, production and perception experiments were administered for English native speakers. First, we found that word final devoicing does not occur in /t,d/ contrast and significant differences lie in many acoustic correlates, including durations of preceding vowels, stop closure durations, voicing duration and F0 of the preceding vowels. Second, the result showed the evidence that English flapping is incomplete neutralization, exhibiting that many acoustic properties differ between /t/ flaps and /d/ flaps in duration of pre-flap vowels, flap duration, voicing duration and VOT. Furthermore, the perception task yielded high perceptibility of word final /t,d/ contrast due to the availability of many acoustic cues. Next, it was shown that English listeners have difficulty in deciding whether a flap is an underlying /t/ or /d/. This suggests that complete neutralization engenders imperceptibility of /t/ flaps and /d/ flaps. Finally, our identification test revealed that the manipulation of the duration of the pre-flap vowels does not function as a perceptual cue for word medial /t/-/d/ contrast embedded in a flapping environment. KEYWORDS flapping, word final devoicing, (in)complete neutralization, acoustic correlates of voicing, (im)perceptiblity, length of pre-flap vowels Gwanhi Yun A mismatch in completeness between acoustic and perceptual neutralization in English flapping
... To date, only a handful of instrumental studies have investigated the acquisition of the segmental features in the Turkish language (Albrecht 2017;Darcy and Krüger 2012;Yavaş 2016), either as a study of L1 acquisition or L2 acquisition in young children. The acquisition of L2 Turkish vowels in the adult population remains to our knowledge as yet entirely unexplored. ...
This study adopts the Speech Learning Model to investigate the first language (L1) influence as well as the effects of the length of residence and second language (L2) exposure on American English-speaking learners of Turkish in their productions of Turkish unrounded–rounded vowel pairs, with a particular focus on the vowel categories “new” to American English speakers (/y/, /œ/, and /W/). L1 (English) and L2 (Turkish) speech samples were collected from 18 non-governmental organisation (NGO) workers. L2 experience was defined by whether the worker lived in an urban or regional environment in Turkey. Participants’ audio productions of the word list in L1 and L2 were segmented and annotated for succeeding acoustic analyses. The results show an interesting front–back variability in the realisations of the three vowels, including further back variants of the front vowels (/y/, /œ/) and more forward variants of the /W/ vowel, with a substantial degree of interspeaker variability. While the analysis revealed no significant results for the length of residence, language experience was found to have a significant effect on the production of /y/ (F2) and /W/ (F1/F2). This study forms a first step into the research of adult L2 acquisition in Turkish with a focus on L2 in the naturalistic workplace environment, rather than instructed settings. The findings of this study will contribute to the development of teaching materials for NGO workers learning Turkish as their L2.
... The present study takes impetus from the substantial number of studies which adopt information-theoretic approaches to the estimation of FL (e.g., Oh et al., 2015;Surendran & Niyogi, 2003, 2006Wedel et al., 2013). This approach, first formulated by Hockett (1955), quantifies the amount of information conveyed by language in terms of Shannon's entropy (Shannon, 1948). ...
In the 1980s, Brown (1988) and Catford (1987) both published functional load rankings of English vowel and consonant contrasts based on British Received Pronunciation. While still used today, these rankings have not been updated, revised, or expanded using contemporary analytical tools and in light of current theoretical perspectives. This manuscript seeks to address this issue. First, it provides a critical review of the steps taken by Brown (1988) and Catford (1987) to create their rankings. Second, it presents FL rankings for vowel and consonant contrasts obtained from a modern, usage-based, corpus-driven study intended to replicate the work of Brown and Catford (to the extent possible).
The companion spreadsheet 'Vowels and consonant contrast (full data).xlsx contains complete FL rankings for vowel and consonant contrasts for 10 varieties: British Received Pronunciation, Canadian English, East African English, General American English, Hong Kong English, Indian English, Irish English, Jamaican English, Philippine English, and Singapore English.
ناونیشانی ئهو توێژینهوهیه بریتیه لە (چێوەیەکی تیۆری لە نێوان بۆچونەکانی هالیدەیی و فاوسێت لە زمانەوانی ئەرکیدا)یە، كه تیایدا بۆچونهكانی فاوسێت سهبارهت به زمانهوانی ئهركی رێكخراو systemic Function Linguistic دوای هالیدەی خستیهڕوو. دهستپێكی بۆچونهكانی بهوه دهستپێدهكات "من كه دهڵێم هالیدهی شاكارترین زمانهوانی سهدهی بیستهمە، ئهوه ناگهیهنێ، كه ههردهم پێموابێ كه ئهو له ههموو شتهكانی ڕاسته، مهرجیش نییه له ههموو بۆچونهكانی سهبارهت به ڕێزمانی زمانی ئینگلیزی لهگهڵیدابم، بهڵام دهبێ ڕێز لهو لایهنه بگرین، كه هالیدهی شوێن پهنجهی دیارەلەبهرهوپێشبردنی بیرۆكهی زمان و زمانهوانیدا، فاوسێت له بۆچونهكانیدا زیاتر دوو ڕێزمانی جیاواز شیدهكاتهوه، كه به ڕێزمانی سیدنی Sydney Grammar ڕێزمانی كاردیف Cardiff Grammar ناودەبرێن، ههردوو ڕێزمانهكهش بۆ ئهوهیه چۆن بتوانن تیۆره زمانیهكان بكهن به مۆدێلێكی زمانی له چوارچێوهی SFL دا، واته زمانهوانی ئهركیی ڕێكخراودا. لێرهدا فاوسێت ههوڵ بۆئهوه دهدات كه (تیۆر)، له وهسفی زمانی جیابكاتهوه، ئهوهش وایكرد كهوا شیكردنهوهی جیاواز بۆ یهكهكانی فۆڕم و واتا بكات. شیكردنهوهكانی فاوسێت بۆ ئاستی خوار پاڕستهوه دادهبهزێ، بهوهش ههندێ زاراوهی وهكو یهكه، و پایه، گروپی ناوی و توخم دێته ئاراوه، كه پێشتر له ڕێزمانە ئەرکییەکەی هالیدهی بەرچاو ناکەوێت. ئەو زمانەوانییەی فاوسێت بە ڕێزمانی دوای هالیدەی ناودهبرێت. ئێمه ههوڵدهدهین خۆمان له بهراوردكردنی ئهو دوو ڕێزمانه بپارێزین، بهڵام ئهوهی ناچارمان دهكات زیاتر ئهوهیه، كه فاوسێت خۆی له خستنهڕووی ههر بۆچونێكی تازهی خۆی پێشتر ئاماژهیهك به بۆچونهكانی هالیدهی دهدات، ئەوەی پێویستی بەوتنە،ئەوتوێژینەوەیە،بەشێکە لە نامەیەکی ماستەرتیایدا چێوەی تیۆری بابەتەکە دەخاتەڕوو،لەبەرئەوەیە لایەنی تیۆری لەشیکردنەوەکاندا زیاتر باوە.
In this paper we provide the results of the experimental study of the acquisition of the production of English diphthongs by native speakers of Serbian, specifically focu¬sing on the temporal (durational) characteristics of diphthongs. The subjects were 15 first year students of English at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, who were recorded producing English words containing diphthongs within frame sentences. The recordings were acoustically analyzed for durational characteristics, and the measurements were compared with the values of three control English native speakers and the reference values from the literature. The results point to an uneven level of acquisition of most temporal features between different diphthong classes. Further analysis revealed that the uneven levels of acquisition for specific groups of diphthongs are comparable to the overall level of acquisition of the spectral characteristics of diphthongs.
Language change occurs naturally and is inevitable. Understanding the proportion of phonetic variant users is conducive to clarifying the causes and trends of the evolution of the phonological system (Au 2008). Over the recent three decades, research on Taiwanese Mandarin phonetics has been broad in scope and rich in results (Su 2018). However, little research has been conducted on the frequency of phonetic variants in the Mandarin-speaking community in Taiwan, their relationships, the trend of their development, and their preference by people. According to Ho (2010), most phonetic research has involved focused but fragmented analyses, and a comprehensive linguistic discourse remains lacking. Rather than a conventional analysis on acoustic property or phonological rules, this study focused on free variations in phonetics. Empirical evidence was gathered from large speech corpora to analyze the characteristics and development trend of phonetic variants. The following results were obtained: (1) These variants are mainly characterized by tones; (2) pronunciation has been simplified; and (3) phonetic innovation may fill in the pronunciation vacancy or expand the pronunciation.語言變化是自然且不可避免的，了解字音變體使用者比例有助於我們了解音韻系統演化成因和發展趨勢 (Au 2008)。近三十年來，關於臺灣華語語音的研究，議題 廣泛、成果豐碩（蘇席瑤2018）。然而，在整個語言社群中各類型音變發生頻率與 相互關聯性如何？整體發展趨勢如何？民眾是否有所偏好？較少有文獻論及。何萬 順 (2010) 亦指出現有語音研究多為零散片段的重點式分析，尚未有語言學家對其 進行全面性描述。有別於語音聲學特質的描述或音韻規律的建立等研究傳統，本研究轉而探究變化中的語音變異現象，藉由大型語音語料庫證據，分析語音變異特徵和發展趨勢。研究發現：一、語音變異以聲調為主；二、讀音趨向簡化；三、字音創新可能填補空缺或擴充字音。(下載全文/Download full-text from TOAJ https://toaj.stpi.narl.org.tw/file/article/download/4b1141f98e33a885018e36bc0e84002c)
The existence of triphthongs in native and non-native English varieties is a controversial topic. Therefore, this paper undertakes a corpus-based study of the patterns of triphthong realisation in educated Nigerian English (NigE) to identify the phonological processes employed in their realisation. Natural phonology has been adopted as a theoretical framework based on its practical application against formal or rule-governed phonological theories. The spoken part of the International Corpus of English (ICE), Nigeria of over 600,000 words provided data for the study. Using AntConc corpus analysis toolkit (version 3.4.4.0), 26 lexical items that contain English triphthong sounds were searched for in the ICE-Nig corpus. Only 20 of the items that occurred ten times and more in the corpus were eventually selected for analysis. These were analysed quantitatively by counting the tokens of occurrence and the number of speakers and converting them to percentages. The findings revealed that triphthongs are variedly realised in NigE, through natural phonological processes of syllabification, diphthongisation and monophthongisation as a 'natural' solution to the general difficulty associated with their pronunciation. This marks NigE as different from RP and validates its peculiarity and uniqueness. The study re-echoes the ongoing clamour for the codification and standardisation of NigE so that it can also occupy its rightful place as a variety of World Englishes.
The present analysis builds upon and extends proposals from recent research regarding the interpretation of null subjects (NSs) in consistent and partial NS languages. These proposals suggest that the interpretation of a NS depends on its connection to a specific type of Topic, notably the Aboutness-Shift Topic (A-Topic), which initiates a Topic chain (cf. Frascarelli 2007). The investigation seeks to determine: (i) whether NSs in Chinese are interpreted within a topical chain headed by an A-Topic, and (ii) if different types of Topics occupy distinct positions in the left periphery of sentences and exhibit specific prosodic features, despite the tonal nature of Chinese. This work will present an analysis demonstrating the necessity of distinguishing between Aboutness-Shift, Contrastive, and Given Topics in Chinese, based on a prosodic and contextual examination of 852 tokens obtained from an oral production experiment specifically designed for this study, in addition to data from the analysis of two unscripted interviews. The collected data will also be analyzed to establish the existence of a Topic hierarchy in Chinese. Additionally, the data will demonstrate that even in a radical NS language like Mandarin Chinese, NSs rely on a linking relation with the A-Topic heading a Topic chain.
This paper compares bilinguals of 2L1s with monolinguals and second language speakers. The experiment and statistical analysis reveals that the question whether bilinguals adopt a more extreme, intermediate, or monolingual-like approach may not have a clear-cut yes or no answer. Our finding demonstrates that bilinguals are more monolingual-like when they have greater control over their speech production. Additionally, bilinguals employ an extreme approach to positive VOTs, where they must distinguish among all the six stops in Japanese and English, though they adopt an intermediate approach to negative VOTs, where they just need to distinguish among the three voiced stops.
This paper examines the segmental and suprasegmental features of the 800 elementary English words in the 2022 revised national curriculum. The aim is to offer specific guidelines for elementary English education and to propose ideas for future curriculum revisions. The research involved transcribing the 800 headwords for elementary English into the International Phonetic Alphabets based on American English pronunciation and analyzing two suprasegmental features (syllable structure and stress) and two segmental features (onset and coda). Results show that the 800 elementary English words encompass a broad spectrum of sound paradigms, including various syllable structures, manners and points of articulation, and consonant clusters. However, there are limitations in the frequency distributions of certain suprasegmental and segmental features, which may affect young learners’ acquisition of English word sounds. Based on these findings, the paper discusses pedagogical implications for the revision of the basic vocabulary list and the development of elementary English lessons.
The present study which is entitled “The Semantic Effect of Suprasegmental Features in English”, It is an attempt to show how suprasegmental features affect the meaning of different expressions in English. It focuses on two main issues: the effects of stress patterns on words, and the roles of intonation in conveying meaning. The problem investigated by the study is that non-native speakers of English find it difficult to use grammatical structures accurately because of the complexity in the grammatical structures of English. The study hypothesizes that
suprasegmental features play a significant role in affecting expressions in the course of communication. The study concludes that suparsegmental features serve as an alternative to grammatical structures for studying thoughts and feelings. According to the grnerative model used, the connection between sounds and meanings are captured through the technical constructs, phonetic form (PF), realized as sound sequences, and logical form (LF), representations of certain aspects of meaning.
This chapter is dedicated to /aɪ/-monophthongization in New Orleans English. /aɪ/-monophthongization is a prominent and salient feature in the US South (Tillery 1992; Fridland 2003, 2012, Anderson 2008). The Euclidean distance and Trajectory Length are the primary measures used for a comprehensive analysis of the feature. Linear mixed models are utilized to test whether certain social and phonetic factors have any effect on /aɪ/-monophthongization.
Unsurprisingly, women have been proven to have longer Trajectory Length (TL) for /aɪ/ than men. At the same time, older speakers in the area turned out to be more diphthongal as well, which was an unexpected result. As for the manner and place of articulation, stops as a following environment conditioned shorter TL. Labiodentals and velars as places of articulation were also associated with the shortest TL. Voiceless consonants were shown to be a less favorable environment for /aɪ/-monophthongization than the voiced ones. Initial context also pre-conditioned longer TLs and, therefore, more diphthongal realizations of /aɪ/. Duration — both separately and in interaction with the manner and place of articulation — was examined as well and displayed a significant impact.
In terms of the urban vs. suburban dynamic, it was surprising to see that the speakers from a suburban neighborhood of Chalmette showed longer TL values than the speakers from urban New Orleans. A possible explanation for this is the relative homogeneity and isolation of Chalmette, as well as the fact that it formed as a result of the “white flight” and is, in fact, largely populated by people with an urban background.
The chapter concludes with a lexical review, showing the most common words based on TL values, as well as an overview of some separate cases of raw formant trajectories.
This paper deals with a phonological analysis of rhythm in Thomas Gray’s poetry. As such, the current study attempts to answer the following questions: a. what are the rhythmic patterns in Thomas Gray’s poetry? b. what is the role of rhythm in the construction of the poetic value in Thomas Gray’s poetry? Accordingly, this study aims to (1) identify the rhythmic patterns in Thomas Gray’s poetry; and (2) explicate the role of rhythm in the construction of the poetic value in Thomas Gray’s poetry. To achieve the aims of the study, the following procedures are adopted: a.reviewing literature on rhythm in phonological and poetic studies; b.using a model developed by this study to analyze the data under scrutiny which are represented by two poems randomly selected from Thomas Gray’s ones. It has been concluded that rhythm in Gray’s poetry is characterized by variation and effectiveness since it is not limited to one metering flow of feet. Additionally, deviations of stress in poetic rhythm are related to the general theme of the poem and the literary objective of the poet himself. This reflects changes in the mood of the poem.
This study investigated the possible influence of the allomorphs [t, d, ɪd] in the intelligibility of 48 verbs ending in -ed, half in the first and half in the second intelligibility test, which were produced by eight speakers from four different L1 backgrounds (e.g., BP, Spanish, German, English) and orthographically transcribed by 14 Brazilian listeners in two intelligibility tests within a four-month interval. Results of the first intelligibility test indicated that verbs ending in the allomorph [t] were more intelligible than verbs ending in the allomorph [ɪd], which in turn were more intelligible than verbs ending in the allomorph [d]. However, results for the second intelligibility test did not follow the same tendency and indicated that the intelligibility of verbs ending in the allomorphs [t, ɪd] were very similar whereas the results for the intelligibility of verbs with the allomorph [d] increased since it had large room for improvement from the first to the second test. Moreover, results also indicated that there was variation in the intelligibility of verbs ending in the three allomorphs for each learner and among the learners, demonstrating that the language development is a dynamic, varied, and complex system, as the Dynamic System Theory proposes.
English and Kurdish languages have difffferent ways of dealing with the syllable according to each language’s unique system. Every syllable should have a nucleus, onset, and coda that are subject to language particular variation. ThThe production of syllable shapes in specifific languages may vary widely: some of the subparts can be obligatory. For example, onset and nucleus are required in many languages but the coda is optional as in English syllables, only the nucleus is compulsory, that is, each syllable must contain a nucleus. While syllable onsets and codas are optional. In the Kurdish language, the onset is required to be fifilled by only one consonant, i.e. no consonant cluster is allowed in the onset, and only two consonants are allowed in the coda. So, the various numbers of segments in the onset and coda increase the number of syllable types in each language. Dealing with the numerous structures of syllables at the end of words needs more elaboration. ThThus, this paper clarififies each one in detail in the below sections. At last, the similarities and difffferences between English and Kurdish fifinal words are identifified. ThThe examples of Kurdish fifinal words are based on the Latin script. It is concluded that both languages share some similarities and they have some difffferences.
This chapter is dedicated to the pin-pen merger in New Orleans English. An overview of the phonetic environments that most strongly condition the merger is provided, and the impact of social factors such as age, gender, ethnoracial affiliation, and education is examined. The use of Bhattacharyya scores to measure overlap is demonstrated, positioning this method as more advantageous for describing the merger than alternative measures like Pillai scores or Euclidean distance. Linear mixed models are used to test the effects of the social and phonetic parameters mentioned above. Finally, predicted scores are given for each category.
Stress is one of the main linguistic aspects that deals with greater effort on a syllable or syllables in a word and making them more prominent than other unstressed syllables. This phonetic and phonological feature is probably present in most languages of the world. The present study presents lexical stress patterns influence on Iraqi Arabic and Kurdish EFL learners’ pronunciation. The study aims at investigating EFL learners’ pronunciation of English lexical stress by three different language groups, to show the effect of first language on the pronunciation of English words concerning Iraqi Arabic and Kurdish EFL learners, clarifying the influence of gender on their performance. The current study hypothesizes the following for the current aim to be achieved: . there is no difference in gender in the performance of all language groups. Lastly, the validity of the data is analyzed acoustically by using Praat software program to verify the auditory analysis and to make certain that stress assignment is precise. Among the conclusions arrived at in the present study is that the total performance of Kurdish participants is better than the Iraqi Arabic performance, but there is no significant difference between them.
RESUMO Este artigo trata da aquisição do acento primário do inglês por falantes de português brasileiro. O objetivo é observar se falantes não nativos conseguem modificar a noção de sílaba pesada do português (equivalente a sílaba com rima ramificada) para a do inglês (equivalente a núcleo ramificado). Os resultados indicaram que o nível de proficiência é significante, mas que o segmento da sílaba final e a possibilidade de epêntese afetam ainda mais os resultados. Os resultados nos permitem defender que, apesar da grande influência da L1 nos níveis de proficiência iniciais, a reparametrização (nos moldes de Chomsky 1982) é possível.
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