Kim Swanson

Acquisition versus suppression of phonological processes in the second language acquisition of French and English

Friday, November 8, 2002
3:30-4:30 p.m.
Ballantine Hall 135

Within the field of Second Language Acquisition, second language (L2) pronunciation or phonology has always been of interest to teachers and researchers, probably because it is the most difficult component for learners to master. Few learners achieve a completely nativelike pronunciation, and this is what we generally notice first when speaking to a nonnative speaker. In investigating the acquisition of L2 phonology, much work has been done on the acquisition of specific sounds, e.g. acquisition of the vowel in French tu [ty] by English speakers. However, less work exists on the acquisition or suppression of L2 phonological processes (i.e. the "rules" of the language system that govern the use of certain sounds in certain contexts).

This study examines how learners acquire or suppress phonological processes in French and English as L2s, with three goals in mind: (a) to establish the relative ease or difficulty of acquiring versus suppressing a process (or "pronunciation rule"), (b) to determine what effect phonological training has on both the acquisition and suppression of a generalization, and (c) to show how these processes can be characterized in terms of the recent theoretical framework Optimality Theory. Data were collected on the acquisition and suppression of two phonological processes: 1) Aspiration - an allophonic process of English by which the voiceless stops /p/, /t/, and /k/ are aspirated (meaning they are followed by a puff of air) at the beginning of a word or at the beginning of a stressed syllable (compare the pronunciation of English pear to French père), and 2) Palatalization - a neutralization process in English whereby the sounds /s, z/ change with the addition of certain morphemes/suffixes (e.g., press à pressure, supervise à supervision). This talk will present the phenomena studied, the process of data collection (pronunciation training), and some preliminary findings.

Kim's presentation (followed by a question-answer session) promises to be extremely stimulating intellectually and full of practical applications. So, come "in mass" to listen and support your fellow classmate.

If you have a disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs. Contact Isabel Piedmont at (812) 855-5458 or ipiedmon@indiana.edu