First Language Phonetic Drift During Second Language Acquisition by Charles Bond Chang A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Keith Johnson, Chair Professor Susanne Gahl Professor Sharon Inkelas Professor Carla Hudson Kam Fall 2010 First Language Phonetic Drift During Second Language Acquisition ⃝c 2010 by Charles Bond Chang 1 Abstract First Language Phonetic Drift During Second Language Acquisition by Charles Bond Chang Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics University of California, Berkeley Professor Keith Johnson, Chair Despite abundant evidence of malleability in speech production, previous studies of the effects of late second-language learning on first-language production have been limited to advanced learners. This dissertation examines these effects in novice learn- ers, finding that experience in a second language rapidly, and possibly inexorably, af- fects production of the native language. In a longitudinal study of Korean acquisition, native English-speaking adult learners (n = 19) produced the same English words at weekly intervals over the course of intensive elementary Korean classes. Results of two acoustic case studies indicate that experience with Korean rapidly influences the production of English, and that the effect is one of assimilation to phonetic properties of Korean. In case study 1, experience with Korean stop types is found to influence the production of English stop types in terms of voice onset time (VOT) and/or fundamental frequency (f0) onset as early as the second week of Korean classes, re- sulting in the lengthening of VOT in English voiceless stops (in approximation to the longer VOT of the perceptually similar Korean aspirated stops) and the raising of f0 onset following English voiced and voiceless stops (in approximation to the higher f0 levels of Korean). Similarly, in case study 2, experience with the Korean vowel space is found to have a significant effect on production of the English vowel space, resulting in a general raising of females’ English vowels in approximation to the over- all higher Korean vowel space. These rapid effects of second-language experience on first-language production suggest that cross-language linkages are established from the onset of second-language learning, that they occur at multiple levels, and that they are based not on orthographic equivalence, but on phonetic and/or phonologi- cal proximity between languages. The findings are discussed with respect to current notions of cross-linguistic similarity, exemplar models of phonology, and language teaching and research practices. i To Appa ii Contents List of Figures v List of Tables vii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Significance of the Study ......................... 1 1.2 Place in the Literature .......................... 2 1.3 Outline of the Dissertation ........................ 5 2 General Background 7 2.1 Research Context ............................. 7 2.2 Malleability of L1 Production ...................... 10 2.2.1 Change with Attenuated Feedback . 10 2.2.2 Adaptation to Altered Feedback . 16 2.2.3 Accommodation to Another Talker . 22 2.2.4 Summary ............................. 29 2.3 Modeling the Acquisition of L2 Speech . 29 2.3.1 Perceptual Assimilation Model . 30 2.3.2 Speech Learning Model ..................... 36 2.3.3 Perceptual Assimilation Model–L2 . 43 2.3.4 Linking L1 and L2 in a Bilingual System . 49 2.3.5 Summary ............................. 54 2.4 Phonological Interaction in Language Contact . 54 2.4.1 Sound Change in Language Obsolescence . 55 2.4.2 Intermediate Phonology in Heritage Speakers . 60 2.4.3 Phonetic Drift in Bilinguals ................... 63 2.4.4 Summary ............................. 71 2.5 Motivations and Predictions ....................... 71 3 Methodological Overview 75 3.1 Introduction ................................ 75 3.2 Participants ................................ 75 iii 3.3 L2 Exposure ................................ 77 3.4 Experiments ................................ 79 3.5 Procedure ................................. 79 3.6 Stimuli ................................... 81 3.7 Acoustic Analysis ............................. 82 3.7.1 Voice Onset Time ........................ 82 3.7.2 Fundamental Frequency ..................... 83 3.7.3 Vowel Formants .......................... 84 3.7.4 Measurement Reliability ..................... 87 4 Phonetic Drift in Consonants 88 4.1 Introduction ................................ 88 4.1.1 Cross-Linguistic Differences ................... 88 4.1.2 Predictions ............................ 93 4.2 Methods .................................. 95 4.3 Results ................................... 97 4.3.1 Change in English Voiced Stops . 97 4.3.2 Change in English Voiceless Stops . 102 4.3.3 Change in English Compared to Korean . 106 4.4 Discussion ................................. 115 5 Phonetic Drift in Vowels 122 5.1 Introduction ................................ 122 5.1.1 Cross-Linguistic Differences . 122 5.1.2 Predictions ............................ 132 5.2 Methods .................................. 134 5.3 Results ................................... 135 5.3.1 Change in English Vowels . 135 5.3.2 Dialectal and Individual Variation . 145 5.3.3 Change in English Compared to Korean . 156 5.4 Discussion ................................. 158 6 General Discussion 166 6.1 Introduction ................................ 166 6.2 Redefining Phonetic Drift . 166 6.2.1 Basis of Phonetic Drift . 166 6.2.2 Time Course of Phonetic Drift . 171 6.2.3 Summary ............................. 176 6.3 Implications for Theory . 177 6.3.1 Cross-Linguistic Similarity in L2 Acquisition . 177 6.3.2 Experience in an Exemplar Model . 179 6.3.3 From Individual to Community-Wide Drift . 182 iv 6.4 Implications for Practice . 183 6.4.1 Teaching Practice . 183 6.4.2 Research Practice . 184 7 Conclusion 187 7.1 Main Findings ............................... 187 7.2 Future Directions ............................. 189 A Entrance Questionnaire 221 B Exit Questionnaire 228 v List of Figures 2.1 Different bilingual systems of voiceless stops . 51 3.1 Experimental environment for Experiments 1K and 2E . 80 3.2 Marking of negative VOT in an initial prevoiced plosive . 83 3.3 Marking of positive VOT in an initial lag-voiced plosive . 84 3.4 Marking of a three-period interval in a vowel with regular phonation 85 3.5 Marking of a three-period interval in a vowel with irregular phonation 85 3.6 Marking of vowel onset and offset in a consonant-final word . 86 3.7 Marking of vowel onset and offset in a vowel-final word . 87 4.1 Schematic of f0 onset by VOT in the Korean laryngeal contrast . 90 4.2 Scatterplots of f0 onset by VOT in native productions of Korean stop types .................................... 91 4.3 Histogram of VOT in English plosives . 96 4.4 Mean f0 onset by mean VOT in English voiced plosives over time . 98 4.5 Mean VOT and mean f0 onset in English voiced plosives over time, by voicing type ................................ 99 4.6 Mean VOT in English voiced plosives over time, by participant . 100 4.7 Mean f0 onset in English voiced plosives over time, by participant . 101 4.8 Mean f0 onset by mean VOT in English voiceless plosives over time . 103 4.9 Mean VOT in English voiceless plosives over time, by participant . 104 4.10 Mean f0 onset in English voiceless plosives over time, by participant . 105 4.11 Mean VOT in English voiced, Korean fortis, and Korean lenis plosives over time ................................. 107 4.12 Mean f0 onset in English voiced, Korean fortis, and Korean lenis plo- sives over time .............................. 108 4.13 Mean VOT in English voiceless, Korean aspirated, and Korean lenis plosives over time ............................. 110 4.14 Mean f0 onset in English voiceless, Korean aspirated, and Korean lenis plosives over time ............................. 111 4.15 Mean f0 onset in English voiced stops, voiceless stops, and vowel- initials over time ............................. 114 vi 4.16 Mean f0 onset by mean VOT in English voiced, English voiceless, Korean lenis, Korean fortis, and Korean aspirated plosives over time . 116 5.1 Mean F1 by mean F2 of Korean vowels and English vowels, females . 127 5.2 Mean F1 by mean F2 of Korean vowels and English vowels, males . 128 5.3 Mean F1 by mean F2 of English vowels over time, female learners . 136 5.4 Mean F1 by mean F2 of English vowels over time, male learners . 137 5.5 Mean F1 and mean F2 of the English vowel space over time . 138 5.6 Significant phonetic drift of individual English vowels . 140 5.7 Mean F1 of female learners’ English vowels over time, by vowel . 142 5.8 Variability of English vowel production, Week 5 . 144 5.9 Mean F1 by mean F2 of English /A/ over time, by dialect group . 146 5.10 Mean F1 by mean F2 of English vowels over time, talkers from the Mid-Atlantic ............................... 147 5.11 Mean F1 by mean F2 of English vowels over time, talkers from the South/Southwest ............................. 148 5.12 Mean F1 by mean F2 of English vowels over time, talkers from the Inland North ............................... 149 5.13 Mean F1 by mean F2 of English vowels over time, talkers from the North Midland .............................. 150 5.14 Mean F1 by mean F2 of English vowels over time, talkers from Eastern New England ............................... 151 5.15 Mean F1 by mean F2 of English vowels over time,