Foreign Language Learners Acquire L2 Phonetic Detail: Goose and Foot Fronting in Non-Native English

Abstract

<jats:p>Whether late learners discern fine phonetic detail in second-language (L2) input, form new phonetic categories, and realize them accurately remains a relevant question in L2 phonology, especially for foreign-language (FL) learning characterized by limited exposure to interactional native input. Our study focuses on advanced Czech learners’ production of the L2 English vowels GOOSE and FOOT. While English /u/ and /ʊ/ have been undergoing fronting, their Czech equivalents, /uː/ and /u/, are fully back. We show that although the spectral differentiation of /u/-/ʊ/ is smaller in the learners’ than in native speech, the vowels being contrasted primarily in length, even FL learners can shift their L2 sound categories towards native-like targets, or in this case, produce English /u/-/ʊ/ as fronted.</jats:p>

Environment Input in Second Language Acquisition of Phonetic Details: The GOOSE Fronting Among Chinese English Learners

“…They had a fronted /u/ vowel compared with its native Chinese version, although it has not to overlap with the English version. This demonstrated the impact of native phonological systems in L2 speech along with Šimáčková and Podlipský's finding [42].…”

“…The prediction made by this paper would be that the environment input outside the classroom is an important contributing factor. Since there are not many studies that particularly link second language acquisition and the GOOSE fronting change, Šimáčková and Podlipský's study [42] provides a vital angle for looking at how L2 speakers deal with fine phonetic detail. The study of the paper was aiming to involve advanced Czech English learners and focused on whether they form new phonetic categories in L2 and realize them accurately.…”