INTERFERENCE OF ANDALUSIAN ASPIRATION OF CODA /S/ AND VELARIZATION OF WORD FINAL /N/ IN LOW-LEVEL L2 ENGLISH LEARNERS
Open Access
- Author:
- Jasinnas, Kerri Ann
- Area of Honors:
- Spanish
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- John Lipski, Thesis Supervisor
John Lipski, Thesis Honors Advisor
Dr. Chip Gerfen, Faculty Reader
John Lipski, Thesis Supervisor - Keywords:
- Andalusian Spanish
phonological interference
/s/ aspiration
/n/ velarization - Abstract:
- As part of a bilingual phonological study, ten L1 Andalusian Spanish and low-level L2 English speakers were interviewed in a three-part process. The interview was conducted in both languages as to evaluate the relationship between the strength of two phonological features of Andalusian Spanish, /s/ aspiration and /n/ velarization, in the L1 and in the L2. The results of this study were analyzed to see if the frequency and position of these particular phonological processes in the L1 would indicate the strength of the same process in the L2. Based upon the results of previous studies, participants were expected to exhibit /s/ aspiration and /n/ velarization in the same positions and with the same relative frequency in the English L2 as they do in the Andalusian Spanish L1. An analysis of the data collected during this study found that the processes of /s/ aspiration and /n/ velarization were prominently transferred from Spanish to English in this low-level stage of language acquisition. However, the strength of these processes in native Spanish did not necessarily predict their strength in English speech. While participants were almost six times more likely to aspirate /s/ than to velarize /n/ during the Spanish interview segment of the interview process, they were almost four times more likely to velarize /n/ than to aspirate /s/ during the English segments. The results regarding /s/ aspiration showed that there was no correlation between the frequency of aspiration in Spanish and in English. This was true of each of the four positions in which /s/ aspiration could occur, word-final, word-internal, phrase-final, and plural, as well. A general analysis of the total instance of /n/ velarization showed no correlation between a speaker’s tendency to velarize in Spanish and his tendency to do so in English. However, a categorical analysis of the various positions in which /n/ velarization can occur did show that some instances of correlation do exist. While no correlation was found regarding the frequency of word-final preconsonantal fricative, word-internal preconsonantal, word-internal prevocalic, and phrase-final /n/ velarization in the two languages, the data retrieved does show that speakers who velarize word-final preconsonantal /n/ at high rates in their native Andalusian Spanish are likely to do so during English oral reading, as well. There was no correlation between Spanish speaking and English speaking, however. A correlation was also found between a speaker’s tendency to velarize word-final prevocalic /n/ in L1 Andalusian Spanish and in L2 English, as well.