Percepção E Produção Dos Padrões De Vot Do Inglês Por Aprendizes Brasileiros: O Papel De Múltiplas Pistas Acústicas Sob Uma Perspectiva Dinâmica

Abstract

• ABSTRACT: In this study, departing from a dynamic conception of L2 phonetic-phonological acquisition, we investigate 34 Southern Brazilian learners' perception (identification and discrimination) and production of VOT patterns of initial stops in English. We initially hypothesized that, especially among learners with a basic level of L2 proficiency, VOT was not the main acoustic cue employed in the perception of voicing distinctions. Our results show that, regardless of the learners' proficiency level (basic or advanced), VOT is not a sufficient cue for the distinction between /p/, /t/, /k/ and /b/, /d/, /g/. These results, which have an influence on the lower VOT values found in our production data, conform with a dynamic view of L2 acquisition, according to which multiple acoustic cues play a role in language acquisition, forcing learners to tune in to the most important cue(s) in the target language.• KEYWORDS: VOT. Second Language Acquisition. Acoustic Cues. IntroductionThe process of learning phonetic-phonological aspects of a second language (L2) 1 is complex and dynamic, for many variables, acting conjointly, are fundamental to understand this process. Regarding the perception and production of the target language sounds, multiple acoustic cues are at play in establishing the functional differences among the sounds to be acquired. In that respect, learning an L2 implies the learner's skill not only to perceive the acoustic cues which are productive in the target system, but also to use them in order to establish phonological differences in the foreign language system.As an example to the challenges to be faced by learmers, we may consider the task Brazilians undertake when learning English Voice Onset Time (VOT) patterns. In English, voiceless plosives /p/, /t/, /k/ are produced with a long VOT interval, which is also called Positive VOT (aspiration). This is the main phonetic cue employed in the distinction between voiceless and voiced stops (SCHWARTZHAUPT; ALVES; FONTES, 2013). However, in a previous pilot study, Alves and Zimmer (2012) suggested that among Brazilian learners VOT duration did not seem to be a fundamental cue for the distinction between voiced and voiceless stops in English, contrary to what is observed among native speakers of that language. Brazilian Portuguese speakers seem to pay more attention to other acoustic cues, such as burst intensity and the F0 value of the vowel following the stop, when establishing functional differences between voiceless and voiced plosives in English. This might also account for the fact that Brazilian learners, even in advanced levels of proficiency, are not able to produce VOT patterns similar to the ones found among natives (ALVES; SCHWARTZHAUPT; BARATZ, 2011).In other words, following the hypotheses raised in the pilot study carried out by Alves and Zimmer (2012), it is possible that Brazilian learners do not use VOT as their main cue in distinguishing voiceless from voiced stops in the target language. This considered, it might be the case that o...

The production of the English stop voicing contrast by Arab L2 speakers of English

“…The findings in the current study are also in accordance with earlier studies examining L2 English among Arab speakers (Alves & Zimmer, 2015;Buali, 2010;Calvo, 2016;Flege & Port, 1981;Gordon & Darcy, 2016;Khattab, 2002;Port & Mitleb, 1983;Olson, 2017;Olson & Hayes-Harb, 2019;Rato & Rauber, 2015). In these studies, it was reported that all Arab L2 speakers are able to distinguish between the English voiced /b/ and the aspirated voiceless /p/, although this contrast does not exist in their L1 (Arabic).…”

sC-clusters in Brazilian Portuguese

“…CristófaroSilva et al (2019) listed VOT values for voiceless plosives in BP, which were obtained in several works, showing a great variation in values: [p] 11 ms -37.67 ms; [t]: 15 ms -36.52 ms and [k]: 35 ms -58.05 ms. Recent works showed an emergent aspiration in voiceless plosives in BP(Alves and Zimmer 2015;Kupske 2017). Furthermore, none of the works mentioned above refer to the BP variety reported in this paper.…”

A dynamic perspective on L2 pronunciation development: bridging research and communicative teaching practice

“…In tandem with investigations on L2 production, the number of perceptual studies have also increased considerably in the Brazilian scenario. Still regarding final stops in English, Albuquerque 2012 2014and Alves and Zimmer (2015) showed that VOT is not the main acoustic cue employed by Brazilian learners in the identification and discrimination of minimal pairs such as 'pat-bat', and that a multitude of cues might be at play in L2 perception. This, once again, conforms to the dynamic theoretical perspective according to which language development emerges from the interaction of a multitude of factors.…”