Coordination of lexical and paralinguistic F0 in L2 production

The present study examines the coordination of lexical and paralinguistic F0 in second language (henceforth L2) production. We tested how L2 learners manage to handle F0 when F0 in their first language (henceforth L1) carries a paralinguistic function, but a lexical one in their L2 and vice versa. Participants (fifteen L1 Japanese speakers and fifteen L1 German speakers, proficient also in their respective L2s) were asked to repeat the same words after an alleged communication failure. Our results demonstrate negative transfers from the learners’ L1 to their L2 in both Japanese and German. The findings are particularly telling, since the words analyzed are very frequent ones, and of which learners should have sufficient L2 input, suggesting that a rich amount of input is not sufficient to the formation of an appropriate F0 in the L2.