Presentation

Phonetic Imitation of L2 Vowels in a Rapid Shadowing Task

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Abstract

The current study investigates the production of L2 vowels in rapid shadowing task. A number of studies have demonstrated that talkers converge with the model on a variety of acoustic properties as a result of imitative tendencies in humans. Such tendencies should be also observed in second-language speech in which acquisition of new sound categories results from efficient imitation of nonnative articulatory patterns. Twenty-two Polish learners of English produced tokens of the English low front vowel /æ/ in word-list reading and immediate imitation of the model. This vowel is reported to be difficult to acquire for Polish learners because it can be accommodated by two Polish neighbouring vowels /e/ and /a/. The magnitude of convergence with the model productions of /æ/ was expressed in Euclidean distance values. The results reveal that participants significantly modified their productions as a result of exposure to the model and that they diverged from their articulatory habits shaped by the influence of L1 vowel categories.

How to Cite:

Royjczyk, A., (2012) “Phonetic Imitation of L2 Vowels in a Rapid Shadowing Task”, Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Proceedings 4(1).