A pesquisa em Atrito linguístico de L1 tem testemunhado um desenvolvimento desde os anos 80. No entanto, ainda são poucos os estudos acerca do português brasileiro (PB) e imigrantes brasileiros em comunidades de L2 dominante. Assim, partindo de uma visão da linguagem como um Sistema Adaptativo Complexo (CAS) (e.g., LARSENFREEMAN; CAMERON, 2008; BECKNER et al. 2009;. MERCER, 2013), este estudo investigou a produção das plosivas surdas do PB-L1 e do Standard Southern British English-L2 (SSBE) por imigrantes adultos do Sul do Brasil residentes em Londres, testando os efeitos dos primeiros dez anos (tempo de residência - LOR) na comunidade britânica. Usando um desenho transversal, este estudo explorou a produção de plosivas surdas em posição inicial de palavra de trinta e dois participantes, com idades entre 18-40: imigrantes brasileiros que viviam em Londres durante períodos de tempo variados (chegada no Reino Unido com idade > 18 anos), monolíngues do SSBE e monolíngues do BP. Os alvos do BP /p/, /t/ e /k/ foram apresentados na frase-veículo “Eu Diria _______”. Os alvos para o SSBE foram apresentados na frase “I would say_______”. Os alvos em posição inicial de palavra foram gravados aleatoriamente três vezes por cada participantes. Para a produção SSBE-L2, os resultados mostraram que falantes com um LOR entre zero e três anos diferem dos controles SSBE (p <0,05) para todas as três plosivas surdas inglês britânico. Imigrantes com um LOR entre quatro e sete anos também diferem dos controles (p<0,05) para [p] e [t], mas não divergem para [k] (p>0,05). Aqueles que residem em Londres entre oito e onze anos não apresentaram diferenças em relação aos monolíngues do inglês britânico (p>0,05), e apresentaram os maiores valores médios de VOT. Em relação à produção do VOT para o PB-L1, a produção dos participantes com o menor período de tempo em Londres não era diferente da dos monolíngues do PB. Por outro lado, imigrantes com um LOR entre quatro e sete anos produziram valores de VOT diferentes dos produzidos pelos controles para [t] e [k], apresentando valores médios mais elevados (p <0,001), mas não para a [p] (p>0,05). Finalmente, os imigrantes que eram residentes em Londres entre oito e onze anos revelaram diferenças em relação aos controles do PB, apresentando os maiores valores de VOT (p <0,001) para todos os sons plosivos considerados. Esses resultados fornecem evidência para o atrito linguístico de L1 enfrentado pelos falantes nativos do PB (shortlag VOT) imersos em uma comunidade de L2 dominante (long-lag VOT), bem como para o efeito de LOR, já que os valores de VOT tendem a aumentar em função do tempo de residência. Esses dados confirmam, como previsto por uma visão da linguagem como um CAS, que o sistema de L1 não é rígido e pode mudar durante o tempo de vida de um falante. Nossos resultados sugerem que as línguas naturais dependem de uma variedade de agentes, além de serem adaptativas e sujeitas a constantes mudanças. / The study of L1 attrition has witnessed some development since the 1980s; however, there are still few studies on Brazilian Portuguese (BP) and on Brazilian immigrants in L2-dominant communities. Thus, departing from a view of language as a Complex, Adaptive System (CAS) (e.g. LARSEN-FREEMAN; CAMERON, 2008; BECKNER et al., 2009; MERCER, 2013), this study investigated the production of BP-L1 and Standard Southern British English-L2 (SSBE) voiceless plosives by Southern Brazilian adult immigrants in London, testing the effects of the first ten years (length of residence - LOR) in the British community. Using a cross-sectional design, this study explored the production of voiceless plosives in word initial position by thirty-two participants, aged 18-40: Brazilian immigrants that had been living in London for differing lengths of time (arrival in UK aged > 18 years), monolingual SSBE controls, and monolingual BP controls. BP target sounds /p/, /t/ and /k/ were presented in the carrier sentence Eu diria _______. SSBE targets were presented in the sentence I would say_______. Targets were elicited in word-initial position, and were randomly recorded three times by the participants. For SSBE-L2 production, the results showed that speakers with a LOR between zero and three years differ from the SSBE controls (p<.05) for all three voiceless British English plosives. Immigrants with a LOR between four and seven years differ from the controls (p<.05) for [p] and [t], but do not diverge from them for [k] (p>.05). Those residing in London between eight and eleven years do not present differences from the British English monolinguals (p.>05), and presented the highest mean values. With regard to BP-L1 VOT production, the production by participants with a shorter period of time in London was not different from the BP monolingual controls. On the other hand, immigrants with a LOR between four and seven years yielded different VOT values from those produced by the controls for [t] and [k], presenting higher mean values (p<.001), but not for [p] (p>.05). Finally, immigrants that had been residing in London between eight and eleven years revealed differences from the BP controls, presenting the highest VOT values (p<.001) for all the plosives. These findings provide evidence for first language attrition faced by short-lag VOT speakers immersed in long-lag VOT L2- dominant communities, as well as for the effect of LOR, as values tend to increase through time. These data confirm, as predicted by a view of language as a CAS, that the L1 system is not rigid and might change during the life span. Our results suggest that language depends on a variety of agents and is also adaptive, being subject to constant change.

Behavioral perceptions and cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) from native English (N=10) and Spanish speakers (N=10) were recorded for speech stimuli that constitute phonetically relevant categories of voicing. The stimuli were synthesized bilabial stop consonant-vowel syllables in a continuum ranging from/ba/to/pa/that varied in voice onset time (VOT) from 0 to 60ms. Different behavioral perceptions were evidenced by significantly different categorical phonetic boundaries between the two groups (p.05). Peak P1, N1, and P2 response latencies and P1–N1 and N1–P2 amplitudes increased significantly with increasing VOTs (p

This study aims to explore if it is possible to form separate categories of aspirated voiceless stops in a second language, distinct from the equivalent categories in the native language, for native speakers of a language with an intermediate degree of aspiration, and if such category formation is eased by long-term exposure to another language in which aspirated voiceless stops exist. Two groups of adult native Japanese speakers who had lived in Sweden for a long and short time respectively were recorded when reading a list of sentences containing word-initial, utterance-medial /p t k/ in Japanese and English. Both groups produced higher VOT values for the English stops than for the Japanese stops. The results were significant for /t/ and /k/ and for the long-term residents' /p/, but not for the short-term residents' /p/, presumably because of a low number of tokens. The results are nevertheless interpreted as evident of the possibility of phonetic category formation even though there is only a small difference from the corresponding category in the native language. Since both groups had established new phonetic categories, degree of exposure to Swedish is interpreted as likely not to be a relevant factor.

For this study, two groups of native Icelandic speakers were compared in terms of the acoustic properties of their English pronunciation of two phonetic phenomena, plosives and pre-aspiration. In English, plosives with the same manner and place of articulation are distinguished by means of a voicing contrast, whereas in Icelandic, plosives are distinguished by means of an aspiration contrast. This study examines whether participants exhibit interlanguage features in their plosive contrasts in English, substituting unaspirated voiceless plosives for voiced counterparts. Furthermore, this study looks at pre-aspiration, a phonetic feature of Icelandic, characterized by glottal friction following a short vowel preceding a fortis plosive (VhC). Pre-aspiration is not a feature of standard English varieties such as general American (GA) or received pronunciation (RP), and as such this study examines whether participants retain pre-aspiration in their English pronunciation or not. Participants numbered 16 in total, and were all L1 speakers of Icelandic, with eight in each group, four male and four female. The groups were divided by means of age differences, with the first group consisting of participants aged 20-26, and the second group of participants aged 44-50. Participants were asked to partake in a short informal interview, to read a short written passage, and to read a word list. The interview and readings were recorded and analysed using spectrograms and waveforms, and subsequently compared with English and Icelandic reference values for voice onset time (VOT), which vary between the two languages, and pre-aspiration duration in Icelandic. The two groups were also compared to determine whether there were any lingering differences between them. The conclusions drawn are that VOT in English and Icelandic may be more similar than assumed, and that participants shorten pre-aspiration duration or neutralize pre-aspiration when speaking English. However, the English production of the features are more similar to Icelandic than English. Furthermore, the results do not indicate any differences between the two age groups in terms of English pronunciation.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has received more attention in recent years as a treatment option for regulating the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Previous studies of DBS documented consistent improvements in motor function but more variability in speech outcomes. In the present study, six participants diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson's disease who reported worsened speech with stimulation were recorded performing speech acoustic tasks with the stimulators on, and again with the stimulators off. Improvements were noted for most participants in measurements of formant slopes, long term average spectrum (LTAS) of a sustained vowel, and spirantization with stimulation on. Stimulation negatively affected most participants' vowel space area, verbal fluency, sequential motion rate, and LTAS while reading and describing a picture. Measures of stop gap duration, alternating motion rate, and voice onset time were within normal limits for most participants across both stimulation conditions.

No description available.

Research examining bilinguals who stutter (BWS) is limited; in particular there are few studies that have considered examining features of speech motor control in BWS. The present study was designed to examine features of speech motor control in bilingual speakers of Mandarin and English. Speech motor control was examined through the acoustic analysis of speaking rate, voice onset time (VOT) and stuttering adaptation. Participants ranged from age between 9 and 27 years. Upon completion of a language dominance questionnaire, two BWS participants were found to be English dominant and three were Mandarin dominant. Each BWS participant was matched to age/sex matched control participants (BWNS). Results for the BWS participants found more stuttering in the less dominant language based on a measure of percentage of syllables stuttered. All of the BWS participants demonstrated stuttering adaptation and there was no significant difference in the amount of adaptation for Mandarin and English. There was no difference found between BWS and BWNS for speaking rate and VOT. In spite of the similarity between BWS and BWNS, speaking rate in Mandarin appeared to be faster compared to English. These findings suggest that speech motor control in BWS and BWNS are similar and current application of these findings to the clinical setting is discussed.

送氣與非送氣的對比是台灣華語塞音及塞擦音之特性。為討論送氣的議題，本篇論文透過語音實驗，從兩方面來探討：其一為嗓音起始時間(voice onset time)，另一則為語誤的方向性(directionality)及標記 (markedness)。 本研究有兩個實驗，皆以四字非詞為實驗材料。實驗一為語誤實驗，此實驗結合繞口令以及立即回想的方法來誘發語誤；實驗二則為嗓音起始時間實驗，只讓受試者回想，並未結合繞口令。這兩個實驗的設計由於受到中文本身音韻限制及詞彙空缺的限制，韻母使用了單母音(V)及韻母(VG或GV)兩種形式，因此實驗二亦將母音對子音數值的影響之比較結果納入討論。 嗓音起始時間實驗的結果顯示，使用四字非詞並結合回想作為實驗內容所測量出的數值與前人使用實詞所測量出的數值並無太大不同，並支持送氣子音的數值較非送氣子音的大。此外，塞音的研究結果支持Cho & Ladefoged (1999)所提出的原則，也就是塞音除阻的位置若越後面，則其數值會越大；若將塞音的數值套用Cho & Ladefoged (1999)的分類，則中文的非送氣塞音確為非送氣子音，而送氣塞音的數值則介於稍微送氣及送氣子音之間。塞擦音的研究結果若如Lai (2013)般套用Cho & Ladefoged (1999)之原則，則會發現送氣塞擦音符合此原則，但非送氣塞擦音卻非如此。另外，子音後接的母音或韻母亦會影響子音之嗓音起始時間。研究結果顯示當大部份子音後接單母音時，子音之嗓音起始時間較長；研究結果亦指出當子音後接的為單母音[a]或以[a]開頭的韻母時，子音的嗓音起始時間會較接其他母音如[u], [i], [ow]時短。 語誤實驗的結果顯示，除了[k], [kh]有以有標送氣塞音取代無標非送氣塞音的情形外，其他組塞音及所有塞擦音皆無以有標送氣子音取代無標非送氣子音(反之亦然)的情形。就方向性而言，研究結果顯示語誤來源出現在語誤之前(perseveration)的方向性顯著最多。 / The contrast of aspiration is one of the characteristics of stops and affricates in Taiwan Mandarin. Through the conduction of two phonological experiments, we discuss the issue of aspiration from two aspects: one is from voice onset time (VOT), and the other one from directionality and markedness of speech errors. Non-word quadruple sets were used in both two experiments. The first experiment was speech errors, which combined tongue twister and immediate recall to induce speech errors; the second experiment was voice onset time, which only had the subjects to recall. Due to the limitation of phonological ill-form and lexical gaps, the rhymes of the two experiments had two forms, V and VG/GV; as a result, how vowels affected the VOT of stops and affricates were also discussed. The findings of the second experiment (voice onset time) showed that the VOT measured by using non-word quadruple set was similar to the VOT measured by using real words as stimuli, and the findings also indicated that the VOT of the aspirated consonants was longer than that of the unaspirated ones. In terms of the results of the stops, they supported the principle proposed by Cho & Ladefoged (1999) that the duration of VOT has a further back relationship with the closure; furthermore, the categories proposed by Cho & Ladefoged (1999) were applied onto the results, it showed that Mandarin unaspirated stops were indeed unaspirated consonants, and the aspirated stops fell between slightly aspirated and aspirated consonants. The findings of the aspirated stops, if applied the principle proposed by Cho & Ladefoged (1999) like Lai (2013), revealed that aspirated affricates supported the principle, yet the unaspirated ones did not. Regarding the influence of vowels on the VOT, it was found that when the succeeding vowel was a single vowel [a] or rhymes beginning with [a], the VOT of the stops and the affricates would be shorter. The findings of the first experiment (speech errors) indicated that with regard to the stops, the aspirated velar stop tended to replace the unaspirated counterpart, while for the other stops, the probability for marked aspirated stops to replace unmarked unaspirated ones or vice versa was of the same. With regard to the directionality of speech errors, the findings showed that perseverations significantly outnumbered anticipations and exchange.

This thesis explores the role of age in second language (L2) acquisition and first language (L1) attrition. The focus is on Voice Onset Time (VOT) in the production and categorical perception of word-initial L1 and L2 stops in highly advanced L1 Spanish learners of L2 Swedish. Using as the point of departure a maturational constraints perspective and the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH), Study I examines the impact of age of onset (AO) of L2 acquisition on the production of L2 Swedish voiceless stops. The results show that there are AO effects even in the speech of highly advanced L2 learners and that the incidence of nativelike L2 learners is considerably lower than earlier assumed. However, conclusions like these are only possible when speaking rate is accounted for, thereby highlighting the importance of speaking rate effects on VOT as a measure of nativelikeness. Like Study I, Study II reveals age effects on the same L2 learners’ categorical perceptions of L2 Swedish stops. Moreover, after combining the results with the data from Study I, the incidence of nativelike behavior drops remarkably with no late L2 learner performing within the range of native-speaker production and perception. The results suggest that L2 acquisition of phonetic/phonological aspects is especially sensitive to AO effects. It is concluded that theories on maturational constraints, including the CPH, cannot be refuted on the basis of the present data. Study III concerns the same participants’ production and perception of L1 Spanish stops. Age of reduced contact (ARC) is identified as an important predictor for L1 attrition and retention of voiceless stop production, although not of stop perception. This discrepancy is related to different activation thresholds as proposed by the Activation Threshold Hypothesis (ATH). It is further suggested that early bilinguals are more dependent on high-frequency L1 use than late bilinguals when compensating for age effects, but only in production. / <p>At the time of doctoral defence the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Accepted. Paper 2: In press. Paper 3: Manuscript.</p> / Age of onset and ultimate attainment in second language acquisition, The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation, grant no. 1999-0383:01 / First language attrition in advanced second language speakers, Swedish Research Council, grant no. 421-2004-1975

<p>While pronunciation has previously been described as a neglected skill in the second language classroom, a growing body of literature has demonstrated that pronunciation training improves students’ productions (Derwing & Munro, 2005). Mispronunciations have been shown to impact comprehensibility, intelligibility, and accentedness (Derwing & Munro, 2009). As pronunciation instruction methods have begun to be the subject of empirical research, Visual Feedback (VF) has begun to emerge as a novel method for teaching pronunciation. This method has been shown to be particularly effective for teaching voice onset time (VOT), a characteristic of voiceless stop consonants (e.g., /p, t, k/). Worth noting, English and Spanish differ concerning VOT, with English employing long VOTs (30-100ms) and Spanish short VOTs (0-30ms) (Lisker & Abramson’s, 1964). Previous research has focused exclusively on employing VF for shortening VOT, although there are some compelling reasons to question whether the size and nature of the effect would be similar for lengthening VOT. The present study examines the potential effectiveness of VF as a means of lengthening the VOT of Spanish learners of English.</p> <p>The participants of the study were twenty-six students from a large Colombian university. The experiment design consisted of a pretest, three VF interventions, a posttest, and a delayed posttest. The tests were composed of two tasks, differing in their complexity: recording words in isolation and words in utterances. Stimuli consisted of English words (n= 4266) with word-initial voiceless stops (/p, t, k/). Stimuli were controlled for stress, following vowel, and word familiarity  and were measured for VOT using Praat (Boersma & Weenink, 2022).</p> <p>Results from statistical analysis coupled with a visual inspection of the data indicated that the experimental group performed similarly in the three stages of the study and that the visual feedback paradigm did not result in changes in VOT. However, some degree of variation was found among the participants concerning their average VOTs. While some participants showed an overall increase (i.e., improvement) in English VOTs for the three phonemes /p/, /t/, and /k/ over time, other participants did not. In general, most of the participants produced English-like VOTs in the pretest, constituting a degree of ceiling effects. The rate of exposure to the target language and the saliency of English are factors that could have played a role in the development of the VOT scores of the participants before the study. Therefore, the discussion focuses on both the nature of the individual variability and the theoretical implications of ceiling effects found in the current study versus the lack of ceiling effects in other studies with similar populations.</p>