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Interlanguage Production of English
Stop Consonants: A VOT Analysis
Author: Liao Shu-jong
Presenter: Shu-ling Hung (Sherry)
Advisor: Raung-fu Chung
Date: April 19, 2012
Outline
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Terms
Background and Motivation
Research Questions
Significance of the Study
Methodology
Data Analysis
Conclusion
Comment
Q&A
Terms (1)
Selinker (1972): interlanguage
L1
interlanguage
the target language
Terms (2)
Voice onset time (V
T)
J.C. Catford (2002)
Background and Motivation
 Different phonetic implementations of stop
consonants have contributed to detectable foreign
accent. So, interlanguage production of stop
consonants has been a hot issue for researchers who
are concerned with phonological interaction.
 No prior study has evaluated the interlanguage
production of stops by EFL students in Taiwan, nor
gathered VOT data of Mandarin and Southern Min
from high school students.
Research Questions
1. What are the VOT values of stop consonants in
Mandarin?
2. What are the VOT values of stop consonants in
Southern Min?
3. What are the mean VOT values of stop consonants
produced by native speakers of American English?
Research Questions
4. What are the mean VOT values for interlanguage
production of English stop consonants by EFL students
in Taiwan?
5. What patterns or generalizations can be obtained by
comparing English stop production by EFL students and
native speakers of American English?
6. Does proficiency in the target language play a role in the
interlanguage production of stop consonants?
Significance of the Study
The study contributes to complete VOT data for
Mandarin and Southern Min and pioneers the
foreign accent with regard to stops, which
provides the basis for further study of speech
perception.
Methodology-Subjects
Group
26 Students
A(NSE)
native speakers of American
English
→3 females and 3 males
(aged from 19 to 24)
* three came from Utah, two Ohio, and the other
Washington D.C.
* staying in Taiwan for about 9.4 months
* missionaries
B(HEFL)
high proficiency group
→5 girls and 5 boys
(aged from 13 to 16)
* 9 students passed the Basic Level of GEPT;
1 student passed a test held by Cave
* 6 were the same junior high school; 1 was in
Yunlin County; 3 were in Kaohsiung
* at home : Mandarin and Southern Min
* at school: 1 spoke Mandarin and Southern Min;
8 spoke Mandarin; 1 spoke English
C(LEFL)
low proficiency group
→5 girls and 5 boys
(aged from 15 to 16)
* None of them passed proficiency tests
* 9 were in same high school in Yunlin County; 1
was from a vocational senior high school also in
Yunlin County
* at home : 3 spoke Southern Min; 7 spoke
Mandarin and Southern Min
* at school: 3 spoke Mandarin and Southern Min;
7 spoke Mandarin
Methodology- Speech Materials
The Mandarin stimuli were constructed by combining
six stops / ph, th, kh, p, t, k/ with three vowels /i, u,
a/. A set of 16 words were tested.
Methodology- Speech Materials
As for the English stimuli, a protocol of 27 basic
speech syllables by combining the nine stop
segments (/ph, th, kh, p, t, k, b, d, g/) with the
three extreme vowels /i, u, a/ was developed.
Methodology- Speech Materials
The Min stimuli included 24 words, with the
combination of eight stops /ph, th, kh, p, t, k, b,
g/ and three vowels /i, u, a/.
Methodology- Procedures
Choose 26 Subjects
Design and Modify the Questionnaire
and Test Stimuli
Administer the Questionnaire
Take a record: EFL→3 parts
NSE→1 part
(record directly into the computer by PRAAT)
Collect, Compute, and Analyze Data
Discuss Findings
A flowchart of the procedures
Data Analysis-NSE
 NSE3 (a female, aged 24) has produced /b, d, g/ partially voiced, a
situation in which VOT cannot be defined. So, all the voiced tokens
by NSE3 were ignored in the statistical analyses.
similar
longer
Data Analysis-NSE
The analysis reveals that productions for /b, d, g/ and /p, t, k/ do
not differ significantly from each other.
Data Analysis-NSE
[velars]﹥[alveolars]﹥[labials]
Stops that combine with the high vowels /i/ or /u/ are
produced with significantly higher VOT values than those
combined with the low vowel /a/.
Data Analysis-EFL (Mandarin)
short
long
Data Analysis-EFL (Mandarin)
Data Analysis-EFL (Mandarin)
[k]﹥[p], [t] (non-significant effect is obtained for the latter two
categories)

Data Analysis-EFL (Mandarin)
 Subjects in HEFL appear to contrast VOT to a greater degree
than do those in LEFL.
Data Analysis-EFL (Mandarin)
 The figure depicts that HEFL group produce Mandarin /p, t, k/
with shorter VOT values than LEFL group.
Data Analysis-EFL
(Southern Min)
 [k]﹥[p], [t]

 Fast speaking rate may lead to lower VOT value.
Data Analysis-EFL
(Southern Min)
 Among the 120 tokens, 12 tokens have been ignored in
the calculation for mean values because voiced tokens
are either mispronounced or deleted.
negative
Data Analysis-EFL
(interlanguage production)
 {vl. asp}﹥{vl. unasp}, {voiced}
 [velars]﹥[alveolars] ﹥[labials]
short lag values
long lag values
Data Analysis-EFL
(interlanguage production)
Data Analysis-EFL
(interlanguage production)
Data Analysis-EFL
(interlanguage production)
Data Analysis-EFL
(interlanguage production)
Data Analysis-EFL
(interlanguage production)
Data Analysis-EFL
(interlanguage production)
Data Analysis-EFL
(interlanguage production)
 HEFL approximating somewhat to NSE values, and with
LEFL closer to Mandarin values.
 HEFL students adjust their VOT values when producing the
target language. (/g/)
Data Analysis-EFL
(interlanguage production)
 HEFL students’ production approximates more to the
NSE group, and LEFL students’ production is closer to
their L1 than their L2.
the longest lag
the shortest lag
Conclusion
 VOT values that were obtained in this study fall
within the normal range.
 The study has shown a significant effect of place of
articulation for VOT values (velar stops > alveolar
stops> labial stops), but shorter VOT values for /th/
than for /ph/ in Southern Min.
 Despite the close phonetic difference between
/b, d, g/ in English and /p, t, k/ in Mandarin, EFL
students do not use /p, t, k/ in Mandarin directly in
place of voiced stops /b, d, g/ in English.
Conclusion

When speaking English /ph, th, kh/,EFL students
adjust their VOT values to the range of the target
phonetic norm rather than adopting the same VOT
values in their L1 for their L2.

None of EFL students produced English /b, d, g/
with vocal fold vibration during the closure as the
phonological label [+voice] suggested.

The higher proficiency EFL students possess, the
more native-like they will be.
Comment
 The speakers of Southern Min may not be affected
deeply.
 The study is confined to be speech production only.
 The subjects of monolinguals cannot be found.
Q&A
Thank you for listening!