John Archibald

Second Language Phonology

This volume explores a variety of aspects of second language speech, with special focus on contributions to the field made by (primarely) generative linguists looking at the sounds and sound systems of second language learners. Second Language Phonology starts off with an overview of second language acquisition research in order to place the study of L2 speech in context. This introductory chapter is followed by an outline of traditional approaches to investigating interlanguage phonology. The third chapter consists of a discussion of relevant aspects of a learning theory that must be included in a treatment of how people learn sound systems. The next three chapters focus on particular aspects of the mental represenation of phonological competence; segments, syllables, and stress, respectively. The penultimate chapter deals with issues related to the mechanisms that govern the changing of interlanguage grammars over time. The volume ends with a summary of the issues raised throughout the text.

SECOND LANGUAGE PHONOLOGY, PHONETICS, AND TYPOLOGY

In this paper, I address the nature of the mental representation of an interlanguage grammar. The focus will be on the necessity of positing some sort of hierarchical constituent structure to account for L2 phonology. I discuss relevant data from the domains of the acquisition of segments, syllables, moras, and metrical structure. The interaction of these domains is discussed. In addition, I look at the acquisition of onset clusters and argue that the acquisition of liquids is correlated with the acquisition of consonantal sequences. Evidence from language change, language typology, and language acquisition suggests that there is a causal relationship between the two. The theoretical framework of feature geometry and derived sonority gives us the apparatus to explain what the second-language learners are doing.

Phonological acquisition and phonological theory

Contents: Preface. J. Archibald, Introduction: Phonological Competence. B.E. Dresher, H. van der Hulst, Global Determinacy and Learnability in Phonology. K. Rice, P. Avery, Variability in a Deterministic Model of Language Acquisition: A Theory of Segmental Elaboration. E.J. Fee, Segments and Syllables in Early Language Acquisition. D. Ingram, The Acquisition of Negative Constraints, the OCP and Underspecified Representations. J. Archibald, The Acquisition of Stress. K. Demuth, The Acquisition of Tonal Systems. D.A. Dinnsen, S.B. Chin, On the Naural Domain of Phonological Disorders. E. Broselow, H-B. Park, Mora Conservation in Second Language Prosody. T. Scovel, Differentiation, Recognition and Identification in the Discrimination of Foreign Accents.

Language Learnability and L2 Phonology

The first € price and the £ and

A formal model of learning L2 prosodic phonology

price are net prices, subject to local VAT. Prices indicated with * include VAT for books; the €(D) includes 7% for Germany, the €(A) includes 10% for Austria. Prices indicated with ** include VAT for electronic products; 19% for Germany, 20% for Austria. All prices exclusive of carriage charges. Prices and other details are subject to change without notice. All errors and omissions excepted. J. Archibald Language Learnability and L2 Phonology

Interfaces in the prosodic hierarchy: New structures and the phonological parser

In this article I discuss the various components necessary for a formal model of the acquisition of the prosodic phonology of a second language. I outline a model that includes an explicit theory of the representation of metrical knowledge (Dresher and Kaye, 1990; Idsardi, 1992) and the necessary learn ing theory to account for how those representations can be acquired. The learning theory which mediates the interaction between Universal Grammar (UG) and the linguistic environment is composed of such elements as appro priate cues, indirect negative evidence and a principle of lexical dependency. Empirical investigations of the acquisition of English metrical parameters by native speakers of Polish, Hungarian and Spanish are reported. Group data as well as case studies are presented. The data suggest that, in the domain of prosodic phonology, both the representations (metrical structure) and processes (learning principles) evidenced in second language learners are the same as those proposed for native speakers. Interlanguage grammars can be seen as a combination of UG principles, correct L2 parameter set tings (from resetting) and incorrect L1 parameter settings (from L1 trans fer).

Phonological Feature Re-Assembly and the Importance of Phonetic Cues.

In this paper I investigate the assignation of syllabic structure to segments in second language learners invoking principles of parsing and learnability. Drawing on the model of Phillips (1996) in parsing, and the work of Fodor (1999) and Dresher (1999) in learnability, I discuss the implications for second language learning. I also look at the question of whether new phonological structure can be triggered if that structure is lacking in the first language. Drawing on evidence from the acquisition of (1) phonological features in Japanese, Chinese and French learners of English, as well as English learners of Czech, and (2) moraic structure by an English speaker learning Japanese consonant and vowel length contrasts, I argue that second language learners can trigger new prosodic structure. The process of acquisition is a combination of acquiring new structures, and mapping the interfaces of different levels of structure via a phonological parser.

Teaching Implications of L2 Phonology Research

It is argued that new phonological features can be acquired in second languages, but that both feature acquisition and feature re-assembly are affected by the robustness of phonetic cues in the input.

Acquisition of L1 Stress

This chapter discusses the implications of recent second language acquisition research in the field of phonology for second language teachers, including the question of whether adult second language learners can trigger a new phonological structure that is not present in the first language. I will look at processes of Chinese and Japanese learners of English acquiring the [l]/[r] contrast, and then will follow this up by looking at the implications of Matthew’s work on Japanese learners being instructed in acquiring a variety of English sounds and how phonological theory explains their results. Work by Atkey on the acquisition of Czech palatal sounds will also be described to illustrate the conditions under which people can perceive new sounds. The chapter will conclude with a list of the implications for second language teachers of recent research in phonology.

Phonological Development: Models, Research, Implications

In this brief chapter I present a survey of the literature concerning the acquisition of stress in Ll. Then I outline some of the theories that have been proposed to account for child phonological development. In particular I look at Jakobson (1941), Stampe (1969, 1972), and Macken and Ferguson (1983).