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Phonetic equivalence in the acquisition of /l/ by Spanish–English bilingual children*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 June 2012
Abstract
Spanish [l] is characterized as clear, and is associated with a high second formant (F2) frequency and a large difference between F2 and the first formant (F1) frequencies. In contrast, English [l] is darker (with a lower F2 and a relatively smaller F2–F1 difference) and also exhibits contextual variation due to an allophonic velarization rule that further darkens [l] postvocalically. We aimed to determine if Spanish–English bilingual children evidence these differences productively, in a manner comparable to that of monolinguals, or if they produce an [l] that is intermediate to that of Spanish and English monolinguals. We acoustically analyzed [l] productions of seven Spanish–English bilingual, seven Spanish monolingual, and seven English monolingual children. Results showed that the bilinguals had similar prevocalic F2 and F2–F1 values for [l] in both languages, comparable to those of Spanish monolinguals, but significantly higher than those of English monolinguals. The bilinguals also produced English (but not Spanish) [l] with significantly lower postvocalic F2 and F2–F1 values. We assume that the bilinguals have a merged phonetic category for prevocalic [l] but not postvocalic [l], and further, that they maintain separate grammars, allowing the allophonic velarization rule to apply in English but not Spanish.
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- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012
Footnotes
Aspects of this research were supported in part by a grant to the first author from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation. Results presented herein were part of a larger study detailed in the second author's undergraduate honors thesis (Branson, 2011). Thanks to the following individuals who provided assistance with aspects of this research: Peter Torre III, Leah Fabiano-Smith, Sonja Pruitt-Lord, Henrike Blumenfeld, as well as past and present members of the Phonological Typologies Lab at San Diego State University, especially Alanna Call, Leah Lubetkin, Mirna Enriquez, Adam Jacobson, and Jacqueline Mendez. Thanks also to three anonymous reviewers who provided very helpful feedback and suggestions.
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