Phonetica was published by Karger Publishers up to and including 2020. If you or your institution subscribed to Phonetica during that period, you might still have access to the full text of this article on the Karger platform if you cannot access it here.
Abstract
Aim: We assessed the effect of lexical stress on the duration and quality of Spanish word-final vowels /a, e, o/ produced by American English late intermediate learners of L2 Spanish, as compared to those of native L1 Argentine Spanish speakers. Methods: Participants read 54 real words ending in /a, e, o/, with either final or penultimate lexical stress, embedded in a text and a word list. We measured vowel duration and both F1 and F2 frequencies at 3 temporal points. Results: stressed vowels were longer than unstressed vowels, in Spanish L1 and L2. L1 and L2 Spanish stressed /a/ and /e/ had higher F1 values than their unstressed counterparts. Only the L2 speakers showed evidence of rising offglides for /e/ and /o/. The L2 and L1 Spanish vowel space was compressed in the absence of stress. Conclusion: Lexical stress affected the vowel quality of L1 and L2 Spanish vowels. We provide an up-to-date account of the formant trajectories of Argentine River Plate Spanish word-final /a, e, o/ and offer experimental support to the claim that stress affects the quality of Spanish vowels in word-final contexts.
verified
References
1 Albalá MJ, Battaner E, Carranza M, Gil J, Llisterri J, Machuca MJ (2008): VILE: Nuevos datos acústicos sobre vocales del español (Special issue 1: New trends in experimental phonetics. Selected papers from the IV international conference on experimental phonetics). Lang Des 1:1-14.Search in Google Scholar
2 Andreeva B, Barry W, Pützer M, Tanchev A (2015): L2 stressed vowel production by Bulgarian learners of German; in The Scottish Consortium for ICPhS 2015 (ed): Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Glasgow, University of Glasgow.Search in Google Scholar
3 Assmann P, Nearey T (1986): Modeling the role of inherent spectral change in vowel identification. J Acoust Soc Am 80:1297-1308.10.1121/1.394433Search in Google Scholar
4 Audibert N, Fougeron C (2012): Distorsions de l'espace vocalique: quelles mesures? Application à la dysarthrie; in Besacier L, Lecouteux B, Sérasset G (eds): Actes de la conférence conjointe JEP-TALN-RECITAL. Grenoble, France, pp 217-224.Search in Google Scholar
5 Beckman ME, Edwards J (1994): Articulatory timing and the prosodic interpretation of syllable duration. Phonetica 45:156-174.10.1159/000261824Search in Google Scholar
6 Beckman ME, Edwards J, Fletcher J (1992): Prosodic structure and tempo in a sonority model of articulatory dynamics; in Docherty G, Ladd DR (eds): Papers in Laboratory Phonology II: Gesture, Segment and Prosody. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp 68-86.Search in Google Scholar
7 Blust R (2009): The Austronesian Languages. Canberra, Pacific Linguistics.Search in Google Scholar
8 Boersma P, Weenink D (2014): Praat: doing phonetics by computer (computer program). http://www.praat.org/.Search in Google Scholar
9 Byers E, Yavas M (2017): Vowel reduction in word-final position by early and late Spanish-English bilinguals. PLoS One, 12:e0175226.10.1371/journal.pone.0175226Search in Google Scholar PubMed
10 Campbell N, Beckman ME (1997): Stress, prominence and spectral tilt; in Botinis A, Kouroupetroglou G, Carayiannis G (eds): Intonation: Theory, Models and Applications. Athens, ESCA and University of Athens Department of Informatics, pp 67-70.Search in Google Scholar
11 Cho T (2002): The Effects of Prosody on Articulation in English. New York, Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
12 Cho T (2005): Prosodic strengthening and featural enhancement: evidence from acoustic and articulatory realizations of /a, i/ in English. J Acoust Soc Am 117:3867-3878.10.1121/1.1861893Search in Google Scholar PubMed
13 Cho T, Lee Y, Kim S (2011): Communicatively driven versus prosodically driven hyper-articulation in Korean. J Phon 39:344-361.10.1016/j.wocn.2011.02.005Search in Google Scholar
14 Cho T, McQueen J (2005): Prosodic influences on consonant production in Dutch: effects of prosodic boundaries, phrasal accent and lexical stress. J Phon 33:121-157.10.1016/j.wocn.2005.01.001Search in Google Scholar
15 Chládková K, Escudero P, Boersma P (2011): Context-specific acoustic differences between Peruvian and Iberian Spanish vowels. J Acoust Soc Am 130:416-428.10.1121/1.3592242Search in Google Scholar PubMed
16 Cobb K, Simonet M (2015): Adult second language learning of Spanish vowels. Hispania 98:47-60.10.1353/hpn.2015.0026Search in Google Scholar
17 Colantoni L, Marasco O, Steele J, Sunara S (2014): Learning to realize prosodic prominence in L2 French and Spanish; in Miller RT, et al (eds): Selected Proceedings of the 2012 Second Language Research Forum. Somerville, Cascadilla Proceedings Project, pp 15-29.Search in Google Scholar
18 Colantoni L. Marasco O, Steele J, Sunara S (2015a): Phonological and phonetic aspects of the L2 acquisition of French and Spanish stress: in Willis EE, et al (eds): Selected Proceedings of the 6th Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Romance Phonology. Somerville, Cascadilla Proceedings Project, pp 129-144.Search in Google Scholar
19 Colantoni L, Steele J, Escudero P (2015b): Second language speech: theory and practice. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9781139087636Search in Google Scholar
20 De Jong K (1995): The supraglottal articulation of prominence in English: linguistic stress as localized hyperarticulation. J Acoust Soc Am 97:491-504.10.1121/1.412275Search in Google Scholar PubMed
21 Delattre P (1966): A comparison of syllable length conditioning among languages. Int Rev Appl Ling Lang Teach 4:183-198.10.1515/iral.1966.4.1-4.183Search in Google Scholar
22 Enríquez EV, Casado C, Santos A (1989): La percepción del acento en español. Ling Esp Act 11:241-269.Search in Google Scholar
23 Escudero P, Boersma P (2002): The subset problem in L2 perceptual development: multiple-category assimilation by Dutch learners of Spanish; in Skarabela S, Fish S, Do A (eds): Proceedings of the 26th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development. Somerville, Cascadilla Press, pp 208- 219.Search in Google Scholar
24 Escudero P, Boersma P (2004): Bridging the gap between L2 speech perception research and phonological theory. Stud Sec Lang Acquis 26:551-585.10.1017/S0272263104040021Search in Google Scholar
25 Escudero P, Boersma P, Schurt Rauber A, Bion RAH (2009): Across-dialect acoustic description of vowels: Brazilian and European Portuguese. J Acoust Soc Am 126:1379-1393.10.1121/1.3180321Search in Google Scholar PubMed
26 Flege JE (1989): Chinese subjects' perception of the word-final English /t/-/d/ contrast: before and after training. J Acoust Soc Am 86:1684-1697.10.1121/1.398599Search in Google Scholar PubMed
27 Flege JE (1995): Second-language speech learning: theory, findings, and problems; in Strange W (ed): Speech Perception and Linguistic Experience: Issues in Cross-Language Research. Baltimore, York Press, pp 233-277.Search in Google Scholar
28 Fourakis M (1991): Tempo, stress and vowel reduction in American English. J Acoust Soc Am 90:1816-1827.10.1121/1.401662Search in Google Scholar PubMed
29 Fox RA, Jacewicz E (2009): Cross-dialectal variation in formant dynamics of American English vowels. J Acoust Soc Am 126:2603-2618.10.1121/1.3212921Search in Google Scholar PubMed
30 Fry DB (1955): Duration and intensity as physical correlates of linguistic stress. J Acoust Soc Am 27:765-768.10.1121/1.1908022Search in Google Scholar
31 Fry DB (1958): Experiments in the perception of stress. Lang Speech 1:126-152. Garellek M, White J (2015): Phonetics of Tongan stress. J Int Phon Assoc 45:13-34.Search in Google Scholar
32 Gordon L (2008): Factors Affecting English Speakers' Perception of L2 Spanish Vowels; doctoral dissertation, Georgetown University.10.1017/S0025100314000206Search in Google Scholar
33 Gordon L (2011): English speakers' perception of Spanish vowels: evidence for multiple category assimilation; in Sanz C, Leow RP (eds): Implicit and Explicit Language Learning: Conditions, Processes and Knowledge in SLA and Bilingualism. Washington, Georgetown University Press, pp 177-193.Search in Google Scholar
34 Guirao M, García Jurado MA (1990): Frequency of occurrence of phonemes in American Spanish. Rev Québ Ling 19:135-149.Search in Google Scholar
35 Hammond RM (2001): The Sounds of Spanish: Analysis and Application. Somerville, Cascadilla Press.Search in Google Scholar
36 Harrington J, Fletcher J, Beckman M E (2000): Manner and place conflicts in the articulation of accent in Australian English; in Broe MB, Pierrehumbert JB (eds): Papers in Laboratory Phonology V: Acquisition and the Lexicon. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp 70-87.Search in Google Scholar
37 Hillenbrand J, Getty LA, Clark MJ, Wheeler K (1995): Acoustic characteristics of American English vowels. J Acoust Soc Am 97:3099-3111.10.1121/1.411872Search in Google Scholar
38 Hualde JI (2005): The Sounds of Spanish. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.10.1121/1.411872Search in Google Scholar PubMed
39 Huss V (1978): English word stress in the post-nuclear position. Phonetica 35:86-105.10.1159/000259924Search in Google Scholar
40 Jacewicz E, Fox RA, Salmons J (2011): Vowel change across three age groups of speakers in three regional varieties of American English. J Phon 39:683-693.10.1159/000259924Search in Google Scholar PubMed
41 Kim J-Y (2015): Perception and production of Spanish lexical stress by Spanish heritage speakers and English L2 learners of Spanish; in Willis EW, et al (eds): Selected Proceedings of the 6th Conference on Laboratory Approaches to Romance Phonology. Somerville, Cascadilla Proceedings Project, pp 106-128.10.1016/j.wocn.2011.07.003Search in Google Scholar PubMed
42 Kivistö de Souza H, Mora JC (2012): Speech rate effects on L2 vowel production and perception. Anais do X Encontro do CELSUL-Círculo de Estudos Linguísticos do Sul UNIOESTE, Cascavel.Search in Google Scholar
43 Kondaurova M, Francis A (2008). The relationship between native allophonic experience with vowel duration and perception of the English tense/lax vowel contrast by Spanish and Russian listeners. J Acoust Soc Am 124:3959-3971.Search in Google Scholar
44 Kondo Y (2000): Production of schwa by Japanese speakers of English: an acoustic study of shifts in coarticulatory strategies from L1 to L2; in Broe MB, Pierrehumbert JB (eds): Papers in Laboratory Phonology V: Acquisition and the Lexicon. New York, Cambridge University Press, pp 29-39.10.1121/1.2999341Search in Google Scholar PubMed
45 Ladefoged P, Johnson K (2010): A Course in Phonetics. Stanford, Cengage Learning.Search in Google Scholar
46 Lee B, Guion SG, Harada T (2006): Acoustic analysis of the production of unstressed English vowels by early and late Korean and Japanese bilinguals. Stud Sec Lang Acquis 28:487-513.10.1017/S0272263106060207Search in Google Scholar
47 Lennes M (2002): Calculate segment durations (Praat script). http://www.helsinki.fi/∼lennes/praatscripts/public/calculate_segment_ durations.praat.10.1017/S0272263106060207Search in Google Scholar
48 Lennes M (2003): Collect formant data from files (Praat script). http://www.helsinki.fi/∼lennes/praatscripts/public/collect_formant _data_from_files.praat.Search in Google Scholar
49 Levy ES (2009): Language experience and consonantal context effects on perceptual assimilation of French vowels by American-English learners of French. J Acoust Soc Am125:1138-1152.10.1121/1.3050256Search in Google Scholar
50 Levy ES, Strange W (2008): Perception of French vowels by American English adults with and without French language experience. J Phon 36:141-157.10.1121/1.3050256Search in Google Scholar PubMed
51 Lindblom B (1963): Spectrographic study of vowel reduction. J Acoust Soc Am 35:1173-1181.10.1016/j.wocn.2007.03.001Search in Google Scholar
52 Llisterri J, Machuca M, de la Mota C, Riera M, Ríos A (2003): The perception of lexical stress in Spanish; in Solé MJ, Recasens D, Romero J (eds): Proceedings of the XVth International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Barcelona, Causal Productions, pp 2023-2026.10.1121/1.1918816Search in Google Scholar
53 Lord G (2003): The relationship between L2 perception and production: the case of Spanish stress. Paper presented at the 6th Conference on the Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese as First and Second Languages, University of New Mexico, October 14-16.Search in Google Scholar
54 Marín Gálvez R (1995): La duración vocálica en español. ELUA 10:213-226.Search in Google Scholar
55 Menegotto AC (2005): Morfología verbal del español del Rio de la Plata. Mar del Plata, Finisterre.Search in Google Scholar
56 Menke M (2015): How native do they sound? An acoustic analysis of the Spanish vowels of elementary Spanish immersion students. Hispania 98:804-824.10.1353/hpn.2015.0123Search in Google Scholar
57 Menke M, Face T (2010): Second language Spanish vowel production: an acoustic analysis. Stud Hisp Lusophone Ling 3:181-214.10.1515/shll-2010-1069Search in Google Scholar
58 Mo Y, Cole J, Hasegawa-Johnson M (2009): Prosodic effects on vowel production: evidence from formant structure. Proceedings of InterSpeech, Brighton, pp 1-4.10.21437/Interspeech.2009-668Search in Google Scholar
59 Morrison GS (2003): Perception and production of Spanish vowels by English speakers; in Solé MJ, Recasens D,Search in Google Scholar
60 Romero J (eds): Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Adelaide, Causal Productions, pp 1533-1536.Search in Google Scholar
61 Munro M, Derwing T (1994): Evaluations of foreign accent in extemporaneous and read material. Lang Test 11:253-266.10.1177/026553229401100302Search in Google Scholar
62 Munro M, Derwing T (1995): Processing time, accent, and comprehensibility in the perception of native and foreign-accented speech. Lang Speech 38:289-206.10.1177/002383099503800305Search in Google Scholar PubMed
63 Munro M, Derwing T (1998): The effects of speaking rate on listener evaluations of native and foreign-accented speech. Lang Learn 48:159-182.10.1111/1467-9922.00038Search in Google Scholar
64 Nadeu M (2014): Stress- and speech rate-induced vowel quality variation in Catalan and Spanish. J Phon 46:1-22.10.1016/j.wocn.2014.05.003Search in Google Scholar
65 Nakatani LH, Aston CH (1978): Perceiving the stress patterns of words in sentences. J Acoust Soc Am 63(suppl 1):S55.Search in Google Scholar
66 Navarro-Tomás T (1914): Manual de pronunciación española, ed 2. Madrid, Editorial Hernando.Search in Google Scholar
67 Nearey T (2013): Vowel inherent spectral change in the vowels of North American English; in Morrison GS, Assmann P (eds): Vowel Inherent Spectral Change, Modern Acoustics and Signal Processing. Berlin, Springer-Verlag, pp 49-84.Search in Google Scholar
68 Nearey T, Assman P (1986): Modeling the role of inherent spectral change in vowel identification. J Acoust Soc Am 80:1297-1308.10.1121/1.394433Search in Google Scholar
69 Newman M (2014): New York City English. Boston, de Gruyter.10.1515/9781614512127Search in Google Scholar
70 Nishi K, Strange W, Akahane-Yamada R, Kubo R, Trent-Brown S (2008): Acoustic and perceptual similarity of Japanese and American English vowels. J Acoust Soc Am 124:576-588.10.1121/1.2931949Search in Google Scholar PubMed
71 Ortega-Llebaria M (2006): Phonetic cues to stress and accent in Spanish; in Díaz-Campos M (ed): Selected Proceedings of the 2nd Conference in Laboratory Approaches to Spanish Phonology. Somerville, Cascadilla Press, pp 104-118.Search in Google Scholar
72 Ortega-Llebaria M, Gu H, Fan J (2013): English speakers' perception of Spanish lexical stress: context-driven L2 perception. J Phon 41:186-197.10.1016/j.wocn.2013.01.006Search in Google Scholar
73 Ortega-Llebaria M, Prieto P (2007): Disentangling stress from accent in Spanish: production patterns of the stress contrast in de-accented syllables; in Prieto P, Mascaró J, Solé MJ (eds): Segmental and Prosodic Issues in Romance Phonology. Current Issues in Linguistic Theory. Amsterdam, Benjamins.10.1075/cilt.282.11ortSearch in Google Scholar
74 Ortega-Llebaria M, Prieto P (2009): Perception of word stress in Castilian Spanish: the effects of sentence intonation and vowel type; in Vigário M, Sónia F, Freitas MJ (eds): Phonetics and Phonology: Interactions and Interrelations. Amsterdam, Benjamins, pp 35-50.Search in Google Scholar
75 Ortega-Llebaria M, Prieto P (2010): Acoustic correlates of stress in Central Catalan and Castilian Spanish. Lang Speech 54:73-97.10.1177/0023830910388014Search in Google Scholar PubMed
76 Quilis A (1981): Fonética acústica de la lengua española. Madrid, Gredos.Search in Google Scholar
77 Quilis A, Esgueva M (1983): Realización de los fonemas vocálicos españoles en posición fonética normal; in Esgueva M, Cantarero M (eds): Estudios de fonética I. Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, pp 159-252.Search in Google Scholar
78 Rallo Fabra L (2015): Can nonnative speakers reduce English vowels in a native-like fashion? Evidence from L1-Spanish L2-English bilinguals. Phonetica 72:162-181.10.1159/000430920Search in Google Scholar
79 Real Academia Española (2011): Nueva gramática de la lengua española. Fonética y fonología. Madrid, Espasa.Search in Google Scholar
80 Rietveld ACM, Koopmans-van Beinum FJ (1987): Vowel reduction and stress. Speech Commun 6:217-229.10.1016/0167-6393(87)90027-6Search in Google Scholar
81 Rochet B, Putnam Rochet A (1999): Effects of L1 phonotactic constraints on L2 speech perception; in Ohala JJ, Hasegawa Y, Ohala M, Granville D, Bailey A (eds): Proceedings of the 14th International Congress on Phonetic Sciences. Berkeley, University of California, pp 1443-1446.Search in Google Scholar
82 Romanelli S, Menegotto A, Smyth R (2015a): Percepción y producción de acento en alumnos angloparlantes de ELSE en la Argentina: efectos del entrenamiento y la inmersión. Signo Seña 27:47-88.Search in Google Scholar
83 Romanelli S, Menegotto A, Smyth R (2015b): Stress perception: effects of training and a study abroad program for L1 English late learners of Spanish. J Sec Lang Pronunc 1:181-210.10.1075/jslp.1.2.03romSearch in Google Scholar
84 Ronquest R (2013): An acoustic examination of unstressed vowel reduction in heritage Spanish speakers; in Howe C, et al (eds): Selected Proceedings of the 15th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium. Somerville, Cascadilla Preceedings Project, pp 157-171.Search in Google Scholar
85 Ruiz Mella M, Soto-Barba J (2005): Timbre vocálico en hablantes de español como segunda lengua. Onomázein 1:57-65.10.7764/onomazein.11.04Search in Google Scholar
86 Saalfeld A (2012): Teaching L2 Spanish stress. Foreign Lang Ann 45:283-303.10.1111/j.1944-9720.2012.01191.xSearch in Google Scholar
87 Schmidt AM, Flege J (1996): Speaking rate effects on stops produced by Spanish and English monolinguals and Spanish/English bilinguals. Phonetica 53:162-179.10.1159/000262196Search in Google Scholar PubMed
88 Sereno J, Lee H, Jongman A (2015): Effects of speaking rate and context on the production of Mandarin tone (paper 680); in The Scottish Consortium for ICPhS 2015 (ed): Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Glasgow, University of Glasgow.Search in Google Scholar
89 Sluijter AMC, van Heuven VJ (1996a): Acoustic correlates of linguistic stress and accent in Dutch and American English. Proceedings of ICSLP 96. Philadelphia, Applied Science and Engineering Laboratories, Alfred I. DuPont Institute, pp 630-633.Search in Google Scholar
90 Sluijter AMC, van Heuven VJ (1996b): Spectral balance as an acoustic correlate of linguistic stress. J Acoust Soc Am 100:2471-2485.10.1121/1.417955Search in Google Scholar PubMed
91 Solé MJ (1989): Phonotactic constraints as a filter of the articulatory-acoustic signal. J Acoust Soc Am 1:S18.10.1121/1.2027400Search in Google Scholar
92 Stevens J (2011): Vowel duration in second language Spanish vowels: study abroad versus at-home learners. Ariz Work Pap SLA Teach 18:77-104.Search in Google Scholar
93 Stevens KN (1998): Acoustic Phonetics. Current Studies in Linguistics Series 30. Cambridge, MIT Press.Search in Google Scholar
94 Stölten K, Abrahamsson N, Hyltenstam K (2015): Effects of age and speaking rate on voice onset time. Stud Sec Lang Acquis 37:71-100.10.1017/S0272263114000151Search in Google Scholar
95 Strange W, Bohn, O-S, Trent SA, Nishi K (2004): Acoustic and perceptual similarity of North German and American English vowels. J Acoust Soc Am 115:1791-1807.10.1121/1.1687832Search in Google Scholar PubMed
96 Strange W, Levy ES, Law F II (2009): Cross-language categorization of French and German vowels by naïve American listeners. J Acoust Soc Am 126:1461-1476.10.1121/1.3179666Search in Google Scholar PubMed
97 Torreira F, Ernestus M (2011): Realization of voiceless stops and vowels in conversational French and Spanish. Lab Phonol 2:331-353.10.1515/labphon.2011.012Search in Google Scholar
98 Turk A, Sawusch J (1996): The processing of duration and intensity cues to prominence. J Acoust Soc Am 99:3782-3790.10.1121/1.414995Search in Google Scholar PubMed
99 Vasiliev P (2013): The Initial State for Californian English Learners of Spanish and Portuguese Vowels; doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.Search in Google Scholar
100 Zampini M (1998): The relationship between the production and perception of L2 Spanish stops. Tex Pap Foreign Lang Educ 3:85-100.Search in Google Scholar
© 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel
