Assessing L1 Mandarin and L2 English influence on the L3 production of French obstruent coda voicing.
Saved in:
| Title: | Assessing L1 Mandarin and L2 English influence on the L3 production of French obstruent coda voicing. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Patience, Matthew1 (AUTHOR) mpatience@fsu.edu, Qian, Wenqing2 (AUTHOR), Steele, Jeffrey3 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Second Language Research. Jul2026, Vol. 42 Issue 3, p423-448. 26p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Language transfer (Language learning), *English as a foreign language, *Phonology, Phonetics, Mandarin dialects, French language |
| Abstract: | Previous research on crosslinguistic influence in third language (L3) phonetic and phonological production has found that both the first language (L1) and the second language (L2) are possible sources of influence. Such research, however, has mainly examined language triads involving European languages and structures (e.g. vowels, VOT) shared by all three languages. In the present study, we seek to expand the empirical basis for assessing the relative contribution of learners' L1 and L2 via a study of L1-Mandarin–L2-English–L3-French learners' production of obstruent coda voicing, a feature and structure lacking in their L1. Two hypotheses are tested: that greater influence will come from the learners' L2 English, and that such influence will be most common among learners of high L2, low L3 oral proficiency as measured by an accentedness task. Participants completed a carrier sentence reading task involving nonce words. We analysed two phonetic parameters: vowel–consonant (VC) duration ratio and percentage (%) obstruent voicing. Considerable support was found for primarily L2-based influence. However, the data did not support any effect of L2 or L3 proficiency. This study is one of the first to examine the production of multiple phonetic parameters for a single phonological contrast. Our results provide new evidence for L2 facilitative transfer, especially when the L1 has a different syllable structure from the L2 or L3. They also reveal that L2-based transfer may affect some phonetic cues but not others. In the present instance, in a subset of speakers we found evidence of transfer affecting only one of the two phonetic cues (the VC duration ratio or % obstruent voicing). These findings further illuminate the complex nature of L3 acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Second Language Research is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 194895238 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Assessing L1 Mandarin and L2 English influence on the L3 production of French obstruent coda voicing. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Patience%2C+Matthew%22">Patience, Matthew</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> mpatience@fsu.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Qian%2C+Wenqing%22">Qian, Wenqing</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Steele%2C+Jeffrey%22">Steele, Jeffrey</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Second+Language+Research%22">Second Language Research</searchLink>. Jul2026, Vol. 42 Issue 3, p423-448. 26p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+transfer+%28Language+learning%29%22">Language transfer (Language learning)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+as+a+foreign+language%22">English as a foreign language</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonology%22">Phonology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonetics%22">Phonetics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mandarin+dialects%22">Mandarin dialects</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22French+language%22">French language</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Previous research on crosslinguistic influence in third language (L3) phonetic and phonological production has found that both the first language (L1) and the second language (L2) are possible sources of influence. Such research, however, has mainly examined language triads involving European languages and structures (e.g. vowels, VOT) shared by all three languages. In the present study, we seek to expand the empirical basis for assessing the relative contribution of learners' L1 and L2 via a study of L1-Mandarin–L2-English–L3-French learners' production of obstruent coda voicing, a feature and structure lacking in their L1. Two hypotheses are tested: that greater influence will come from the learners' L2 English, and that such influence will be most common among learners of high L2, low L3 oral proficiency as measured by an accentedness task. Participants completed a carrier sentence reading task involving nonce words. We analysed two phonetic parameters: vowel–consonant (VC) duration ratio and percentage (%) obstruent voicing. Considerable support was found for primarily L2-based influence. However, the data did not support any effect of L2 or L3 proficiency. This study is one of the first to examine the production of multiple phonetic parameters for a single phonological contrast. Our results provide new evidence for L2 facilitative transfer, especially when the L1 has a different syllable structure from the L2 or L3. They also reveal that L2-based transfer may affect some phonetic cues but not others. In the present instance, in a subset of speakers we found evidence of transfer affecting only one of the two phonetic cues (the VC duration ratio or % obstruent voicing). These findings further illuminate the complex nature of L3 acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Second Language Research is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=194895238 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1177/02676583251336582 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 26 StartPage: 423 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Language transfer (Language learning) Type: general – SubjectFull: English as a foreign language Type: general – SubjectFull: Phonology Type: general – SubjectFull: Phonetics Type: general – SubjectFull: Mandarin dialects Type: general – SubjectFull: French language Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Assessing L1 Mandarin and L2 English influence on the L3 production of French obstruent coda voicing. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Patience, Matthew – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Qian, Wenqing – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Steele, Jeffrey IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 07 Text: Jul2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 02676583 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 42 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Second Language Research Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
