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Voice onset time and global foreign accent in German-French simultaneous bilinguals during adulthood

Lein, Tatjana ; Kupisch, Tanja LU and van de Weijer, Joost LU orcid (2016) In International Journal of Bilingualism 20(6). p.732-749
Abstract
Aims and objectives: In this study, we investigated crosslinguistic influence in the phonetic systems of simultaneous bilinguals (2L1s) during adulthood.

Methodology: Specifically, we analyzed the voice onset time (VOT) of the voiceless stop /k/ in the spontaneous speech of 14 German–French bilinguals who grew up in France or Germany. We looked at both languages, first comparing the groups, second comparing their VOT to their global accent.

Data and analysis: The material consisted of interviews, lasting for about half an hour. Findings/conclusions: Most 2L1s showed distinct VOT-ranges in their two languages, even if they were perceived to have a foreign accent in the minority language of their childhood environment. We... (More)
Aims and objectives: In this study, we investigated crosslinguistic influence in the phonetic systems of simultaneous bilinguals (2L1s) during adulthood.

Methodology: Specifically, we analyzed the voice onset time (VOT) of the voiceless stop /k/ in the spontaneous speech of 14 German–French bilinguals who grew up in France or Germany. We looked at both languages, first comparing the groups, second comparing their VOT to their global accent.

Data and analysis: The material consisted of interviews, lasting for about half an hour. Findings/conclusions: Most 2L1s showed distinct VOT-ranges in their two languages, even if they were perceived to have a foreign accent in the minority language of their childhood environment. We conclude that the phonetic systems of 2L1s remain separate and stable throughout the lifespan. However, the 2L1s from France had significantly shorter VOTs in German than the 2L1s from Germany, and their speech was overall more accented. These findings are discussed with respect to the role of intra- and extra-linguistic factors.

Originality: Our study adds a new perspective to existing VOT studies of bilinguals by using naturalistic speech data and by comparing two groups of 2L1s who have the same language combination but grew up in different countries, which allows us to evaluate the impact of their childhood environment on VOT development.

Significance/implications: Language exposure during childhood seems to be beneficial for pronunciation during adulthood. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
International Journal of Bilingualism
volume
20
issue
6
pages
18 pages
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85002202441
  • wos:000395770600006
ISSN
1367-0069
DOI
10.1177/1367006915589424
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
67dcf9a5-e64f-4649-88e4-72809cebaf20 (old id 8411203)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:19:19
date last changed
2023-11-09 17:54:40
@article{67dcf9a5-e64f-4649-88e4-72809cebaf20,
  abstract     = {{Aims and objectives: In this study, we investigated crosslinguistic influence in the phonetic systems of simultaneous bilinguals (2L1s) during adulthood.<br/><br>
Methodology: Specifically, we analyzed the voice onset time (VOT) of the voiceless stop /k/ in the spontaneous speech of 14 German–French bilinguals who grew up in France or Germany. We looked at both languages, first comparing the groups, second comparing their VOT to their global accent.<br/><br>
Data and analysis: The material consisted of interviews, lasting for about half an hour. Findings/conclusions: Most 2L1s showed distinct VOT-ranges in their two languages, even if they were perceived to have a foreign accent in the minority language of their childhood environment. We conclude that the phonetic systems of 2L1s remain separate and stable throughout the lifespan. However, the 2L1s from France had significantly shorter VOTs in German than the 2L1s from Germany, and their speech was overall more accented. These findings are discussed with respect to the role of intra- and extra-linguistic factors.<br/><br>
Originality: Our study adds a new perspective to existing VOT studies of bilinguals by using naturalistic speech data and by comparing two groups of 2L1s who have the same language combination but grew up in different countries, which allows us to evaluate the impact of their childhood environment on VOT development.<br/><br>
Significance/implications: Language exposure during childhood seems to be beneficial for pronunciation during adulthood.}},
  author       = {{Lein, Tatjana and Kupisch, Tanja and van de Weijer, Joost}},
  issn         = {{1367-0069}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{732--749}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Bilingualism}},
  title        = {{Voice onset time and global foreign accent in German-French simultaneous bilinguals during adulthood}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1367006915589424}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/1367006915589424}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}