Second Language Listeners’ Comprehension of Accented Speech in Quiet and Noisy Environments
Open Access
Author:
Costanzo, Gregory
Area of Honors:
Psychology
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Janet Van Hell, Thesis Supervisor Frank Gerard Hillary, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Psychology Linguistics Cognition Accents Language Acquisition
Abstract:
Research on accent comprehension in noise has previously supported the notion that language background is related to speech processing abilities in listeners’ native language (L1). To our knowledge, accent comprehension in noise has not yet been studied in second language (L2) listeners. The present study examines how listeners with Dutch as their L1 and English as their L2 comprehend English sentences produced in Dutch-accented English, Southern-American English, Chinese-accented English, and unmarked American English in quiet and noisy conditions. Forty sentences were recorded in each accent condition, half of which were embedded in background noise. After participants heard each sentence, they were asked to type in the sentence. Forty participants were recruited for this study. The participants showed highly accurate transcription scores in the quiet condition for the Dutch, Southern, and American accent conditions with slightly lower mean scores in the Chinese accent. In the noisy condition, transcription scores for the American and Southern accents were high while the Dutch and Chinese accents were comparatively low with Dutch transcribed least accurately. The participants did not demonstrate an interlanguage speech intelligibility effect in noise, indicating a cognitive challenge in processing their native accent when masked. These findings are unexpected and require further analysis.
