Thesis (DLitt (African Languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation is an experimental investigation of vowel duration. It focuses on phonetic and phonological aspects of vowel duration in Civili, and African language spoken in Gabon and some of its neighboring countries. It attempts to bring new insights into the phenomenon of vowel lengthening, and to assess the implictions of these insights for standardizing the orthography of this language. ...

Este estudo tem como objetivo verificar a eficácia do Modelo de Ontogenia (MAJOR, 1987), por meio da análise do processo de aquisição do português como segunda língua (L2) por falantes de espanhol no nível fonético-fonológico. Para tanto, reportamo-nos a pressupostos teóricos que antecedem o dito modelo: a Análise Contrastiva (LADO, 1957), o Modelo de Interlíngua (SELINKER, 1972) e a Hipótese da Marcação Diferencial (ECKMAN, 1987). O Modelo de Ontogenia descreve o processo da aquisição de L2 no nível fonético-fonológico dividindo-o em duas fases: interferência, quando o aprendiz passa a sofrer grande influência de sua L1, e desenvolvimento, quando o aprendiz pode passar por um processo semelhante ao da criança em fase de aquisição da L1. Nosso objeto de estudo foi o processo de aquisição das vogais médio-abertas e das vogais nasais do português, realizando uma análise comparativa entre o sistema fonético-fonológico do português e do espanhol, com enfoque no sistema vocálico. Nessa análise, incluímos o percurso histórico da origem das vogais e a questão da nasalidade em ambas as línguas. Embora este estudo seja centrado na observação da interferência da L1 na aquisição de L2, consideramos também, a interferência de fatores extralinguísticos (KRASHEN, 1982). Para elaboração do corpus foram realizadas duas gravações, com intervalo entre 8 a 18 meses, com quatro pós-graduandos da Universidade de São Paulo, denominados Informantes. A metodologia consistiu na aplicação de entrevista espontânea e leitura de palavras, frases e trecho de texto literário. Acreditamos que nosso trabalho possa contribuir para o desenvolvimento da área de Português para Falantes de Outras Línguas (PFOL) por agregar informações sobre as dificuldades dos aprendizes falantes de espanhol na aquisição do sistema vocálico. / This study aims to examine the efficiency of The Ontogeny Model (Major, 1987) through analysis of the phonetic and phonological aspects of the acquisition of Portuguese as a second language (L2) by native speakers of Spanish. To do this, we relied on the following theoretical assumptions which preceded the model: Contrastive Analysis (Lado, 1957), Interlanguage Model (Selinker, 1972) and Differential Markedness Hypothesis (Eckman, 1987). The Ontogeny Model describes the process of L2 acquisition in the phonetic and phonological levels by dividing it in two stages: interference, when the learner has great influence of his/her first language (L1), and development, when the learner may pass through a process similar to the child acquiring L1. Our object of study is the acquisition process of Portuguese open-mid vowels and nasal vowels, establishing a comparative analysis between the phonetic and phonological systems of Portuguese and English, with focus on the vowel system. In this analysis, we include the historical progression of the vowel origins and the issue of nasality in both languages. Despite this study being centered in the observation of L1 interference in L2 acquisition, we also considered the influence of extra-linguistic factors (Krashen, 1982). To compose the corpus, two recordings were done, with an interval between 8 to 18 months, with four informers, postgraduate students at Universidade de São Paulo. The methodology consisted of spontaneous speech interview and the reading of words, sentences and a literary excerpt. We believe that our work can contribute to the development of the area of Portuguese to Speakers of Other Languages (PSOL) as it assembles information about the difficulties that speakers of Spanish have in the acquisition of the vowel system

Este estudo tem como objetivo verificar a eficácia do Modelo de Ontogenia (MAJOR, 1987), por meio da análise do processo de aquisição do português como segunda língua (L2) por falantes de espanhol no nível fonético-fonológico. Para tanto, reportamo-nos a pressupostos teóricos que antecedem o dito modelo: a Análise Contrastiva (LADO, 1957), o Modelo de Interlíngua (SELINKER, 1972) e a Hipótese da Marcação Diferencial (ECKMAN, 1987). O Modelo de Ontogenia descreve o processo da aquisição de L2 no nível fonético-fonológico dividindo-o em duas fases: interferência, quando o aprendiz passa a sofrer grande influência de sua L1, e desenvolvimento, quando o aprendiz pode passar por um processo semelhante ao da criança em fase de aquisição da L1. Nosso objeto de estudo foi o processo de aquisição das vogais médio-abertas e das vogais nasais do português, realizando uma análise comparativa entre o sistema fonético-fonológico do português e do espanhol, com enfoque no sistema vocálico. Nessa análise, incluímos o percurso histórico da origem das vogais e a questão da nasalidade em ambas as línguas. Embora este estudo seja centrado na observação da interferência da L1 na aquisição de L2, consideramos também, a interferência de fatores extralinguísticos (KRASHEN, 1982). Para elaboração do corpus foram realizadas duas gravações, com intervalo entre 8 a 18 meses, com quatro pós-graduandos da Universidade de São Paulo, denominados Informantes. A metodologia consistiu na aplicação de entrevista espontânea e leitura de palavras, frases e trecho de texto literário. Acreditamos que nosso trabalho possa contribuir para o desenvolvimento da área de Português para Falantes de Outras Línguas (PFOL) por agregar informações sobre as dificuldades dos aprendizes falantes de espanhol na aquisição do sistema vocálico. / This study aims to examine the efficiency of The Ontogeny Model (Major, 1987) through analysis of the phonetic and phonological aspects of the acquisition of Portuguese as a second language (L2) by native speakers of Spanish. To do this, we relied on the following theoretical assumptions which preceded the model: Contrastive Analysis (Lado, 1957), Interlanguage Model (Selinker, 1972) and Differential Markedness Hypothesis (Eckman, 1987). The Ontogeny Model describes the process of L2 acquisition in the phonetic and phonological levels by dividing it in two stages: interference, when the learner has great influence of his/her first language (L1), and development, when the learner may pass through a process similar to the child acquiring L1. Our object of study is the acquisition process of Portuguese open-mid vowels and nasal vowels, establishing a comparative analysis between the phonetic and phonological systems of Portuguese and English, with focus on the vowel system. In this analysis, we include the historical progression of the vowel origins and the issue of nasality in both languages. Despite this study being centered in the observation of L1 interference in L2 acquisition, we also considered the influence of extra-linguistic factors (Krashen, 1982). To compose the corpus, two recordings were done, with an interval between 8 to 18 months, with four informers, postgraduate students at Universidade de São Paulo. The methodology consisted of spontaneous speech interview and the reading of words, sentences and a literary excerpt. We believe that our work can contribute to the development of the area of Portuguese to Speakers of Other Languages (PSOL) as it assembles information about the difficulties that speakers of Spanish have in the acquisition of the vowel system

This dissertation explores the potential differences in the acquisition of the sound system of a second language (L2) versus a third language (L3), building on recent research on adult L2 speech learning and testing the hypothesis that new category acquisition is available across the lifespan. On the one hand, recent influential theories of L2 speech learning predict that new sound categories will be difficult to acquire due to complex interactions among the phonetic categories residing in one same perceptual space. On the other, there exists the common assumption that the more sound categories one’s native language contains, the less difficult it will be to acquire new ones in a native-like fashion. My work provides additional evidence to this discussion, while providing speech data from the following five different speaker groups: (1) native speakers of American English; (2) native speakers of Mexican Spanish; (3) native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese; (4) native speakers of English learning Portuguese as their L2, and (5) native speakers of English learning Portuguese as their L3, who speak Spanish as their L2.The dissertation consists of three content chapters. The first of the content chapters describes the vowel systems of Mexican Spanish, American English and Brazilian Portuguese as informed by production data of the three native speaker groups above (1, 2 and 3). The second and third chapters describe and contrast the vowel system(s) of the two learner groups (4 and 5) as informed by their production and perception of Portuguese vowels respectively. The results from the analysis of the data from the various production and perception experiments performed as part of this dissertation provide evidence for (a) phonetic category assimilation and dissimilation processes in post-L1 speech learning and phonetic category interactions in general; (b) the relevance of quality and quantity of input in language learning; (c) the discussion on the relation between perception and production in post-L1 speech learning; and (d) the need for an extension of current models of L2 speech learning and cross-linguistic speech perception in order for these to address post-L2 speech learning processes, among other topics.

This thesis conducted the first acoustic analysis on Lekwungen (aka Songhees, Songish) (Central Salish). It studied the acoustic correlates of stress on vowels and the effects of consonantal coarticulatory effects on vowel quality. The goals of the thesis were to provide useful and usable materials and information to Lekwungen language revitalisation efforts and to provide an acoustic study of Lekwungen vowels to expand knowledge of Salishan languages and linguistics. Duration, mean pitch, and mean amplitude were measured on vowels in various stress environments. Findings showed that there is a three-way contrast between vowels in terms of duration and only a two-way contrast in terms of pitch and amplitude. F1, F2, and F3 were measured at vowel onset (5%), midpoint (50%), and offset (95%), as well as a mean (5%-95%), in CVC sequences for four vowels: /i/, /e/, /a/, and /ə/. Out of five places of articulation of consonants in Lekwungen (alveolar, palatal, labio-velar, uvular, glottal), uvular and glottal had the most persistent effects on F1, F2, and F3 of all vowels. Of the vowels, unstressed /ə/ was the most persistently affected by all consonants. Several effects on perception were also preliminarily documented, but future work is needed to see how persistence in acoustic effects is correlated with perception. This thesis provides information and useful tips to help learners and teachers in writing and perceiving Lekwungen and for learners learning Lekwungen pronunciation, as a part of language revitalisation efforts. It also contributes to the growing body of acoustic phonetic work on Salishan languages, especially on vowels. / Graduate / 0290

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-22T17:27:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Giane dos Santos.pdf: 3068120 bytes, checksum: 50f07f4cbd047477b6a754b53446a7e5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-25 / This study aims at investigating the perception and production of the Spanish mid vowels [e] and [o] by native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, all undergraduate students in Letras/Spanish as a Foreign Language of both on-site and distance learning modalities. According to Câmara Jr. (2007 [1970]), there are seven BP oral vowels (/i, e, ɛ, a, ɔ, o, u/) in stressed position. As regards Spanish, Martinez Celdrán (1995, 2007) states that there are only five oral vowels (/i, e, a, o, u/), with no mid-low vowel that makes phonological distinction. However, phonetically, there are mid-low vowel productions with lower or higher degrees of aperture (NAVARRO TOMÁS, 2004 [1918]). Considering that in Spanish there are no mid-low vowels (/ɛ/, /ɔ/), differently from the BP vowel set, this difference may be considered one of the reasons why BP speakers pronounce the Spanish mid vowels [e] and [o] as the mid-low BP [ɛ] and [ɔ] (BAZZAN, 2005; MIGNONI, 1999), originating foreign accent (FLEGE, 1987; LONG, 1990). In order to contribute to the understanding of the perception and production of the Spanish mid vowels [e] and [o] by BP speakers, 40 undergraduate students from the cities of Pelotas, Rio Grande, Jaguarão and Santana do Livramento, from the State of Rio Grande do Sul, performed a perception test and a production test. There was also a control group formed by eight BP speakers, from the city of Rio Grande, and eight Spanish speakers, from the city of Montevideo, Uruguay, all undergraduate students whose native language (L1) productions were analyzed in order to obtain reference vowel duration and formant (F1 and F2) values in both BP and Spanish, respectively. To test foreign language (L2) perception and production, two instruments were administered: an identification test, to test vowel perception; and a sentence-reading task, to test vowel production. Production data were analyzed in the software Praat and reveal that (1) the vowel [e] is produced by Brazilians with mean F1 values similar to those produced by native speakers of Spanish; and (2) dispersion in the production of the back vowel [o] by native speakers of Spanish is considerable, resulting in F1 values in Spanish/L2 higher than in BP/L1. As regards perception of the target vowels, both L1 and L2 speakers of Spanish had similar results of correct identification. No statistically significant differences were found between teaching modalities (distance vs. on-site), or region (direct vs. indirect geographical border) in both perception and production results / Este trabalho tem por objetivo estudar a percepção e a produção das vogais médias [e] e [o] do espanhol por falantes do português brasileiro (PB) em um Curso de Letras -Habilitação em Espanhol como Língua Estrangeira (E/L2) nas modalidades presencial e a distância. Conforme Câmara Jr. (2007 [1970]), o PB possui sete vogais orais (/i, e, ɛ, a, ɔ, o, u/) em posição tônica. Quanto ao espanhol, Martínez Celdrán (1995, 2007) afirma que existem apenas cinco fonemas vocálicos (/i, e, a, o, u/), não havendo registro de vogais médias-baixas com distinção fonológica, embora foneticamente haja realizações com maior ou menor grau de abertura vocálica (NAVARRO TOMÁS, 2004 [1918]). Como no espanhol não há as vogais médias-altas /ɛ/ e /ɔ/ como ocorre no português, essa diferença pode ser considerada um dos motivos pelos quais os falantes do PB pronunciam as vogais médias do espanhol [e] e [o] como as médias-baixas [ɛ] e [ɔ] do PB (BAZZAN, 2005; MIGNONI, 1999), originando um sotaque estrangeiro (FLEGE, 1987; LONG, 1990). Visando a contribuir para o entendimento da percepção e produção das vogais médias [e] e [o] do espanhol por falantes do PB, 40 alunos de Cursos de Licenciaturas em Letras-Habilitação em Espanhol, pertencentes às cidades gaúchas de Pelotas, Rio Grande, Jaguarão e Santana do Livramento, foram submetidos a um de teste de percepção e a um teste de produção. O estudo também contou com um grupo de controle, composto por oito falantes do PB (Rio Grande) e oitos falantes de espanhol (Montevidéu, Uruguai), todos estudantes universitários, cujas produções da língua materna (L1) foram analisadas para a obtenção dos valores de referência de duração e dos formantes (F1, F2) das vogais do PB e do espanhol, respectivamente. Dois instrumentos foram aplicados: um teste de identificação, para obtenção de dados de percepção; e uma tarefa de leitura de frases, para coletar dados referentes à produção dos falantes de PB/L1 e Espanhol/L2. Os dados do teste de produção foram analisados com auxílio do software Praat e revelam que 1) a vogal [e] é produzida com valor do primeiro formante (F1) semelhante ao dos falantes nativos de espanhol; e 2) a dispersão na produção da vogal posterior [o] pelos falantes nativos do espanhol é considerável, o que faz com que os valores de F1 desses falantes sejam mais altos que os dos informantes brasileiros. Quanto à percepção das vogais-alvo, tanto nativos do espanhol como brasileiros apresentaram resultados semelhantes de identificação correta. Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre a modalidade de ensino (distância x presencial), nem de região (fronteira direta x fronteira indireta), tanto nos resultados de percepção quanto nos de produção

Submitted by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-06-21T20:27:05Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_Bruna_Teixeira_Correa.pdf: 9689804 bytes, checksum: fe5f90a03f7fea35e63a7d704bd3c1be (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-06-21T21:13:49Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_Bruna_Teixeira_Correa.pdf: 9689804 bytes, checksum: fe5f90a03f7fea35e63a7d704bd3c1be (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-21T21:13:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_Bruna_Teixeira_Correa.pdf: 9689804 bytes, checksum: fe5f90a03f7fea35e63a7d704bd3c1be (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Este trabalho se propõe a investigar a aquisição das vogais nasais [ɛ̃], [ã] e [ɔ̃] da Língua Francesa por aprendizes do curso de licenciatura em Letras Português/Francês da Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Em termos articulatórios, essa classe de segmentos caracteriza-se pelo abaixamento do véu palatino, o que gera o acoplamento dos tubos nasal e oral (SEARA, 2000; DEMOLIN e MEDEIROS, 2006; BARBOSA e MADUREIRA, 2015) e, consequentemente, por aspectos acústicos diferentes daqueles encontrados nas vogais orais. Com a passagem livre do ar no trato nasal, o primeiro formante (F1) tende a abaixar e o terceiro (F3) a aumentar (HAWKINS e STEVENS, 1985; DELVAUX, 2001). Há também uma modificação na amplitude de picos espectrais – menor para as nasais –, aparecimento de picos espectrais adicionais e uma maior duração para os referidos segmentos (MORAES e WETZELS, 1992; SOUSA, 1994). Para desenvolver essa pesquisa, tomou-se como base a Fonologia Gestual (BROWMAN e GOLDSTEIN, 1986), cujas análises abordam o caráter dinâmico da fala e tratam o gesto como primitivo de análise. Para tanto, foram realizadas coletas de dados orais e articulatórios com três grupos de informantes: Grupo I - 8 aprendizes de FLE de semestres distintos (2º, 3º, 5º, 7º e 8º) do curso de licenciatura; Grupo II - 4 nativas de francês; e Grupo III - 4 nativas de português brasileiro. Os instrumentos de coletas consistem para a produção oral, em um teste de eliciação de palavras e de logatomas em frase-veículo e para a produção articulatória, somente o segundo tipo de teste já referido. As coletas dos Grupos I e III foram realizadas na cabine acústica do Laboratório Emergência da Linguagem Oral (LELO/UFPel); já as do Grupo II, em Paris/França. Para análise acústica dos dados de produção oral, foi utilizado o software PRAAT versão 6.0.20; para a análise articulatória, o software Articulate Assistant Advanced (AAA), versão 2.16.11. A análise dos segmentos dos dois grupos de nativas constatou que (i) as vogais nasais do PB têm maior duração absoluta, bem como maior duração de seus murmúrios; (ii) a duração relativa da fase nasal das vogais do francês são mais longas; (iii) para diferenciar segmento nasal de oral, a nativa do francês posterioriza seus movimentos de língua, já a do português, eleva. Quanto aos dados das aprendizes, foi possível constatar: (i) as vogais nasais do francês têm maior duração relativa e absoluta quando comparadasàs do português; (ii) maior duração absoluta da fase nasal das vogais da LE; (iii) menores valores de duração do murmúrio no FR; (iv) generalização de gestos de língua da informante do 2º semestre para as três vogais nasais do FR e (v) distinção acurada da informante do 8º. / This work aims to investigate the acquisition of the nasal vowels [ɛ̃], [ã] and [ɔ̃] of French by learners in an undergraduate course in Languages (Portuguese and French) of Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel, Brazil). In articulatory terms, this class of segments is characterized by a lowering of the velum, which makes a connection between nasal and oral tubes (SEARA, 2000; DEMOLIN and MEDEIROS, 2006; BARBOSA and MADUREIRA, 2015). Consequently, the acoustic aspects that characterize these vowels are different from those found in oral vowels. With the free passage of air in the nasal tract, the first formant value (F1) tends to lower and the third formant value (F3) tends to rise (HAWKINS and STEVENS, 1985; DELVAUX, 2001). There is also a change in the width of spectral peaks – which is smaller for nasal vowels –, as well as the appearance of additional spectral peaks and a longer length for these segments (MORAES and WETZELS, 1992; SOUSA, 1994). In order to develop this research, Gestural Phonology (BROWMAN and GOLDSTEIN, 1986) has been adopted as a theoretical basis. Its analyses approach the dynamic nature of speech and regard the gesture as a primitive of analysis. To this end, collections of oral and articulatory data have been made with three groups of informants: Group I – 8 learners of French as a foreign language (FFL) in different semesters (2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th) of the course; Group II – 4 native speakers of French; and Group III – 4 native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese (BP). The data collection instruments for oral production were tests of elicitation of words and pseudowords in a carrier phrase and, for articulatory production, only the second type of test has been applied. The data collections with Groups I and III were made in an acoustic cabin of the Emergence of Oral Language Laboratory (LELO/UFPel); the data collections of Group II were made in Paris, France. The softwares used for the analyses were Praat (version 6.0.20) for oral production data, and Articulate Assistant Advanced (AAA, version 2.16.11) for articulatory data. The analysis of the segments produced by both groups of native speakers showed that (i) BP nasal vowels have longer absolute length, as well as a longer length of their murmurs; (ii) the relative length of the nasal phase of French vowels is longer; (iii) in order to distinguish nasal segments from oral ones, the native speaker of French posteriorizes her tongue movements, whereas the speaker of Portuguese elevates them. Regarding the data produced by learners, it was possible to verify: (i) longer relative and absolute lengths in French nasal vowels when compared to Portuguese; (ii) longer absolute length of the nasal phase in vowels of the foreign language; (iii) lower values of murmur length in French; (iv) generalization of tongue gestures by the 2nd semester informant for the three French nasal vowels and (v) accurate distinction by the 8th semester informant.

Within the field of second language acquisition of phonology, the role of immersion experiences on language learners' pronunciation has recently become a topic of greater interest. While students of a foreign language with study abroad experience (one to six months) have shown relatively little progress in pronunciation gains, language learners group with extended immersion experience—approximately 24 months abroad—have demonstrated more native-like pronunciation. This study compares the pronunciation of L2 Spanish /u/ among native English speakers enrolled in the same third-year Spanish course who belong to two different groups based on the context of their previous language learning: extended immersion in a Spanish-speaking country or traditional classroom instruction. The effects of syllabic stress and speech task type on the pronunciation of these two groups are also examined. Acoustic data from participants' speech is used to conduct statistical analyses. Words and phrases are subject over time to a process called grammaticalization, especially those that are used frequently. This process causes a gradual shift from use as lexical items to use as grammatical devices. Semantic bleaching also occurs, which means that the earlier or original lexical content of a word or phrase is partially or completely lost. Verbs expressing the idea of possession are particularly susceptible to this type of change. The Spanish verb tener ('to have'), while still retaining its lexical content, has come to be used in constructions that do not represent the explicit idea of possession—they incorporate a bleached usage of the word. This alteration is evident in four construction types examined in this paper. These constructions all have three essential elements: a "possessor" argument, a "possessed" argument, and a third modifying component. The analyses of these constructions include templates that describe both their semantic content and their syntactic structure.

Thesis (M.Eng.(Bio-Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Summaries in Afrikaans and English. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio State University, 1978. / Bibliography: p. 258-273.