ERIC Number: EJ1228209
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Sep
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-2631
EISSN: N/A
Second and Third Language Learners' Sensitivity to Japanese Pitch Accent Is Additive: An Information-Based Model of Pitch Perception
Wiener, Seth; Goss, Seth
Studies in Second Language Acquisition, v41 n4 p897-910 Sep 2019
This study examines second (L2) and third (L3) language learners' pitch perception. We test the hypothesis that a listener's discrimination of and sensitivity (d') to Japanese pitch accent reflects how pitch cues inform all words a listener knows in an additive, nonselective manner rather than how pitch cues inform words in a selective, Japanese-only manner. Six groups of listeners performed a speeded ABX discrimination task in Japanese. Groups were defined by their L1, L2, and L3 experience with the target language's pitch cues (Japanese), a language with less informative pitch cues (English), or a language with more informative pitch cues (Mandarin Chinese). Results indicate that sensitivity to pitch is better modeled as a function of pitch's informativeness across all languages a listener speaks. These findings support cue-centric views of perception and transfer, demonstrate potential advantageous transfer of tonal-L1/L2 speakers, and highlight the cumulative role that pitch plays in language learning.
Descriptors: Japanese, Phonology, Second Language Learning, Native Language, Transfer of Training, Cues, Role, Auditory Perception, Multilingualism, Linguistic Theory, Auditory Discrimination, Task Analysis, English (Second Language), Mandarin Chinese, Contrastive Linguistics
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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