Researchers in bilingualism seek to identify factors that are associated with specific features of bilingual speech. One such predictive factor is language dominance, typically understood as the degree to which one of the languages of a bilingual is more often and more proficiently used. In this chapter we review landmark studies that demonstrate the power of language dominance in predicting fine-grained phonetic and phonological characteristics of speech production and on the perceptual and processing abilities in one or both languages of bilinguals. We then critically examine the construct of dominance and identify ways that dominance can be and has been measured, as well as challenges inherent in the measurement of dominance. We follow demonstrating the dynamic character of dominance by reviewing research on dominance switches and shifts. This is followed by a review of extant studies on language dominance in bilingual speech production, perception, and processing in both languages. We conclude with four areas where research can be fruitfully directed.

The Automatic Selective Perception (ASP) model posits that listeners make use of selective perceptual routines (SPRs) that are fast and efficient for recovering lexical meaning. These SPRs serve as filters to accentuate relevant cues and minimize irrelevant information. Years of experience with the first language (L1) lead to fairly automatic L1 SPRs; consequently, few attentional resources are needed in processing L1 speech. In contrast, L2 SPRs are less automatic. Under difficult task or stimulus conditions, listeners fall back on more automatic processes, specifically L1 SPRs. And L2 speech perception suffers where there is a mismatch between the L1 and the L2 phonetics because L1 SPRs may not extract the important cues needed for identifying L2 phonemes. This chapter will present behavioral and neurophysiology evidence that supports the ASP model, but which also indicates the need for some modification. We offer suggestions for future directions in extending this model.

This chapter provides a thorough, up-to-date review of the literature on the phonetics and phonology of early bilinguals. It pulls together studies from a range of bilingual settings, including bilingual societies and heritage language contexts. While the chapter mostly reviews evidence from adolescent and adult participants, it also makes reference to the child bilingualism literature, where appropriate. The chapter first reviews studies on the accents of early versus late bilinguals, followed by a discussion of the various explanatory accounts for the observed differences between these two groups. Subsequently, the critical significance of early linguistic experience on bilingual speech patterns is considered, with particular reference to the evidence from childhood overhearers and international adoptees. The following sections then review studies comparing simultaneous and early sequential bilinguals, and those exploring the role of language dominance, continued use, the language of the environment in bilinguals’ pronunciation patterns, and the role of sociolinguistic factors in early bilingual speech patterns. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research.

This chapter outlines studies within the domain of speech perception by bilingual adult listeners. I first discuss studies that have examined bilinguals’ perception of L1 and/or L2 speech segments, as well as those that have tested perception of unfamiliar, non-native speech segments. In turn, I examine each of the factors that are known to affect bilinguals’ perception of speech, which include age of L2 acquisition, effects of L1:L2 usage as they pertain to language dominance and proficiency, and short-term contextual effects on speech perception. I also provide an overview of the literature on bilinguals’ perception of suprasegmentals. Finally, I explore what I think are some of the crucial questions facing the field of bilingual speech perception.

This chapter presents an overview of what is currently known about phonetic and phonological first language (L1) attrition and drift in bilingual speech and introduces a new theory of bilingual speech, Attrition & Drift in Access, Production, and Perception Theory (ADAPPT). Attrition and drift are defined and differentiated along several dimensions, including duration of change, source in second language (L2) experience, consciousness, agency, and scope. We address why findings of attrition and drift are important for our overall understanding of bilingual speech and draw links between ADAPPT and well-known theories of L2 speech, such as the revised Speech Learning Model (SLM-r), the Perceptual Assimilation Model-L2 (PAM-L2), and the Second Language Linguistic Perception model (L2LP). The significance of findings revealing attrition and drift is discussed in relation to different linguistic subfields. The chapter raises the question of how attrition and drift potentially interact to influence speech production and perception in the bilingual’s L1 over the life span; additional directions for future research are pointed out as well.

This chapter provides a cross-sectional overview of current neuroimaging techniques and signals used to investigate the processing of linguistically relevant speech units in the bilingual brain. These techniques are reviewed in the light of important contributions to the understanding of perceptual and production processes in different bilingual populations. The chapter is structured as follows. First, we discuss several non-invasive technologies that provide unique insights in the study of bilingual phonetics and phonology. This introductory section is followed by a brief review of the key brain regions and pathways that support the perception and production of speech units. Next, we discuss the neuromodulatory effects of different bilingual experiences on these brain regions from shorter to longer neural latencies and timescales. As we will show, bilingualism can significantly alter the time course, strength, and nature of the neural responses to speech, when compared with monolinguals.

In this chapter we examine a number of present-day varieties of Scots and Scottish Standard English (SSE). We begin by describing the Scots–SSE continuum, with its roots in earlier socio-cultural developments. We then turn to the present day, examining the attitudes towards different varieties of Scots across geographic and social dimensions. The main part of the chapter focuses on recent research on the many varieties of Scots, providing a detailed picture of the phonological and morphosyntactic forms found therein. In terms of phonology, Scots and SSE overlap, but remain divergent, especially given a number of phonological changes in Scots over the twentieth century, and continued Scots regional variation. The analysis of morphosyntax shows a core of forms shared across most varieties, including SSE, and these are largely stable. A number of other ‘home-grown’ forms are increasing in use across Scotland. Overall, our analysis shows that Scots is maintaining its own distinctive pathway in the twenty-first century.

Phonology has generally been neglected as a nexus of philosophical interest despite certain debates within the field both inviting and needing philosophical reflection. Yet, the few who have attempted such inquiry have noted something special about the field and its target. On the one hand, it shares formal and structural aspects with syntax. On the other, it seems to require more literal interpretation in terms of components such as hierarchy and sequential ordering. In this chapter, the nature of the phoneme, the theoretical centrepiece of traditional phonology, comes under scrutiny. The notion, as well as the field itself, is extended to other modalities, such as sign, in accordance with the contemporary trajectory of the field. This extension, and the connections with language and gesture in general, open up the possibility of a philosophical action theory with phonology as its basis. Motor and action theory have been proffered recently in connection with syntax, with little success. However, it’s argued that phonology serves as a better point of comparison. The chapter discusses a range of issues from autosegmental phonology, feature grammar, and sign language, to gestural grammar, motor cognition, and recent 4E approaches to cognition.

This introduction to the volume provides background on common themes that appear across its chapters. First, it contextualizes the notions of heritage languages and heritage speakers before providing reasons why research on heritage sound systems has lagged behind work on other linguistic areas. It then offers an overview of what we have discovered to date about heritage sound systems, while also pointing out gaps and topics that merit further exploration. Motivated by the discussion in the first portion of this piece, the latter half covers the breadth, goals, and novel aspects of the current volume before providing brief summaries of the empirical studies carried out in each of its seventeen chapters.

This chapter introduces the concept of accent, particularly in relation to dialects and varieties of English.The chapter first defines the word 'accent', and the relationship among accent, dialect, and variety. The chapter then focuses on how we understand and describe accents, and the social meaning that accents convey in different contexts. The chapter then discusses variation within different regional varieties of English, and the use of umbrella terms such as 'British English' or 'American English' to encompass a range of social, regional, and ethnic varieties. The chapter then describes the features of the book; the final section of the chapter has a series of exercises and tasks to guide you through a revision of the contents of the chapter.

Phonetics is the science explaining what happens as people talk -- that is to say, what happens as we produce the sounds of speech. Speech is a functional part of language, as language is most commonly used in human interaction. Language, in an abstract sense, is something common to all neurotypical humans. This abstract sense of “language” contrasts with specific languages, each one unique. The level of phonetic analysis of language is separate from, but overlapping with, phonology. Phonology focuses more on contrasts, whereas phonetics focuses more on differences. Phonetic variables can be used at very different levels of the grammar in different languages. Traunmüller distinguishes four types of information in speech: phonetic (linguistic), affective, personal, and transmittal. Dialect, register, and the hyperspeech--hypospeech continuum affect specific aspects of phonetic production in a given language. The science of phonetics uses terminology often consisting of ordinary words whose meanings are frequently different from the technical sense.

The chapter ’The Feline Territory of Language’ shows us how we can approach online language variation with dialectology and outlines the steps to take for a dialectological description of a regional language variety, ranging from dialect data collection to dictionary-making. Using cat-related headwords and survey questions as examples, we look at how the data is collected and presented in the Survey of English Dialects and the Survey of Anglo-Welsh Dialects. The chapter then moves on to dialect lexicography, with cats illustrating the approaches of the EDD, the OED, and the Urban Dictionary, leading us into online dialectology and its use of computers to collect, analyse, and display the data. The last section of the chapter covers phonetics, including its acoustic and articulatory branches. Instead of the usually studied human sounds, however, it takes cat vocalisations to illustrate what to do in phonetics.