Research question:We address the question of whether the cognitive advantage of the bilingual mind, already demonstrated in the case of auditory processing or novel word acquisition, also applies to other linguistic domains, specifically to phonetic and phonological learning. Design:We compare the performance of 17 monolinguals and 25 bilinguals from Canada in a production experiment with two tasks: imitation and spontaneous reproduction of a novel foreign accent, specifically Sussex English. Data and analysis:To eliminate potential sources of variability, our focus is on a sound already existing in the subjects' production (the glottal stop), but differently mapped to surface representations in the novel accent to which they were exposed (i.e. as an allophone of coronal stops in word-final position). We measured the glottal stop rates of our subjects in baseline, training, and post-training. Results:The two groups behaved differently, with bilinguals showing a larger increase of their glottal stop rate post-training. Our results are thus consistent with a bilingual advantage in phonetic and phonological learning.Originality: We interpret these findings in light of recent psycholinguistic work and conclude that echoic memory strategies, possibly underlain by stronger subcortical encoding of sound in bilinguals, may account for our results by facilitating the re-mapping between existing mental representations of sounds and existing articulatory command configurations.Significance: Our study adds to the body of work showing that there is an advantage of bilingualism in second dialect learning in adulthood, and provides an explanation in terms of perceptual strategies in which echoic memory is involved. We also contribute to the recent body of research suggesting that imitation of an action can result in improved understanding of that action.
As part of a larger study investigating the acoustic correlates of accentedness in the reproduction of various accents of English by English monolinguals and French-English bilinguals, we explored speakers' ability to imitate and spontaneously reproduce patterns of realization of word-final coronal stops in three different accents: SE England (Sussex) in which these stops are 100% glottalized, and Russian English and South African English, in which these stops exhibit canonical release about 50% of the time. We have so far fully analyzed the Sussex results and partially analyzed the Russian results. The two groups were characterized by different behaviors: while the bilinguals successfully reproduced the Sussex English accent, the monolinguals did not. By contrast, neither of the groups was successful in reproducing the Russian English accent. After considering the characteristics of each group of speakers and each accent, we conclude tentatively that it is the bilinguals, as a group, who were more successful in the phonetic/phonological learning of a new pattern, perhaps as a result of some type of “bilingual advantage.” Based on work by Calabrese (2011) and Krizman et al. (2012), we propose that this advantage stems from longer availability of acoustic information in echoic memory.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.