The Effect of Age on the Acquisition of Second Language Prosody

Autor/inn/en	Huang, Becky H.; Jun, Sun-Ah
Titel	The Effect of Age on the Acquisition of Second Language Prosody
Quelle	In: Language and Speech, 54 (2011) 3, S.387-414 (28 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0023-8309
DOI	10.1177/0023830911402599
Schlagwörter	Articulation (Speech); Mandarin Chinese; Native Speakers; North American English; Immigrants; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Multiple Regression Analysis; Suprasegmentals; Sentences; Comparative Analysis; Second Languages; Age Differences; Phonology; Predictor Variables; Language Proficiency; Intonation; Correlation; United States + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Muttersprachler; Amerikanisches Englisch; Immigrant; Immigrantin; Immigranten; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Sentence analysis; Satzanalyse; Second language; Zweitsprache; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Fonologie; Prädiktor; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Korrelation; USA
Abstract	This study reports an exploratory analysis of the age of arrival (AoA) effect on the production of second language (L2) prosody. Three groups of Mandarin-speaking immigrants (N = 10 in each group) with varying AoA in the United States and ten native speakers of English as controls participated in the study. All participants read a paragraph of English, and their speech samples were subjected to three prosodic analyses: speech and articulation rates, native speakers' judgment of the prosody based on segment-filtered speech, and analyses of tones and prosodic groupings using the Mainstream American English Tones and Break Indices (MAE_ToBI) transcription conventions. The L2 groups also filled out a survey providing information about their demographic background, English input, and socio-psychological aspects of language learning. The results revealed that the AoA factor impacted different aspects of prosody to varying degrees. Group differences were statistically significant for speech rate, degree of foreign prosody, the frequency of pitch accents, and the frequency of high boundary tones (H-H%). However, group differences were not significant for articulation rate, prosodic groupings, and the rest of the ToBI-labeled phonological categories. Multiple regression analyses further confirmed the AoA effect on degree of foreign prosody, the frequency of pitch accents, and high boundary tones (H-H%); AoA remained a significant predictor controlling for the effects of other variables. However, speech rate was predicted by English media exposure and motivation variable but not by AoA. (Contains 7 figures, 10 tables and 12 notes.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10