Spanish Native-Speaker Perception of Accentedness in Learner Speech

Abstract

Building upon current research in native-speaker (NS) perception of L2 learner phonology (Zielinski, 2008; Derwing & Munro, 2009), the present investigation analyzed multiple dimensions of NS speech perception in order to achieve a more complete understanding of the specific linguistic elements and attitudinal variables that contribute to perceptions of accent in learner speech. In this mixed-methods study, Spanish monolinguals (n = 18) provided information regarding their views of L1 American English (AE) speakers learning Spanish and also evaluated the extemporaneous production of L2 learners from this same population. The evaluators' preconceived attitudinal notions of L1 AE speakers learning Spanish negatively correlated with numerical accentedness ratings for the speech samples, indicating that evaluators with more positive perceptions of the learners rated their speech as less accented. Following initial numerical ratings, evaluators provided detailed commentary on the individual phonological elements from each utterance that they perceived as "nonnative." Results show that differences in the relative salience of the nonnative segmental productions correspond with certain phonetic and phonemic processes occurring within the sounds, such as aspiration, spirantization and lateralization.