1. Voicing Assimilation in Czech and Slovak Speakers of English: Interactions of Segmental Context, Language and Strength of Foreign Accent.
- Author
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Skarnitzl, Radek and Šturm, Pavel
- Subjects
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ANALYSIS of variance , *CONFIDENCE intervals , *CONSONANTS , *DIALECTS , *ENGLISH as a foreign language , *LANGUAGE acquisition , *PHONETICS , *PROBABILITY theory , *RESEARCH funding , *STATISTICS , *HUMAN voice , *DATA analysis , *DATA analysis software , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,PHYSIOLOGICAL aspects of speech - Abstract
This study focuses on voicing assimilation across word boundaries in the speech of second language (L2) users. We compare native speakers of British English to speakers of two West Slavic languages, Czech and Slovak, which, despite their many similarities, differ with respect to voicing assimilation rules. Word-final voicing was analysed in 30 speakers, using the static value of voicing percentage and the voicing profile method. The results of linear mixed-effects modelling suggest an effect of first language (L1) transfer in all L2 English speaker groups, with the tendency to assimilate being correlated with the strength of foreign accent. Importantly, the two language groups differed in assimilation strategies before sonorant consonants, as a clear effect of L1-based phonetic influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
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