The Linguistic Perception of SIMILAR L2 sounds

Abstract In this article, I discuss a linguistic model for explaining second-language (L2) sound perception, which is a phenomenon that has commonly been modelled within the disciplines of phonetics and psycholinguistics. This linguistic model will be applied to the learning of SIMILAR L2 sounds. This L2 learning scenario refers to the acquisition of the knowledge involved in the perception of L2 sounds that are phonologically equivalent but yet phonetically different from the acoustically closest sounds in the learner’s first language (L1). In the introduction, I argue, based on phonetic and psycholinguistic grounds, that speech perception is a language-specific phenomenon that should be brought into the domain of phonological modelling. Additionally, I propose a number of characteristics which incorporate phonological, phonetic, and psycholinguistic modelling and which should be found in a comprehensive and explanatory adequate model for sound perception. In § 2, I demonstrate that the Linguistic Perception (LP) model complies with these criteria. Crucially, I show that the L1 acquisition component of the LP model is shown to constitute a successful proposal for the mechanisms involved in learning to perceive L1 sounds. In § 3, I show how the L2 version of the LP model successfully describes, explains, and predicts the learning of SIMILAR L2 sounds. Specifically, the model predicts that listeners are optimal perceivers of their native language and that beginning L2 learners start with a copy of their L1 optimal perception. These two predictions are confirmed by the perception of /æ/ and // by monolingual Canadian English (CE) and Canadian French (CF) listeners and by the L2 perception of beginning CE learners of CF. Further, the model predicts that learners will adjust their initial L2 perception by means of the same mechanism used by L1 learners. This developmental prediction is confirmed by the gradual shifting of the category boundary between /æ/ and // in CE learners of CF. Finally, the L2LP model hypothesizes that both L1 and L2 can be optimal because they are handled by two separate grammars. The data demonstrate that CE learners of CF have differential perception systems for their L1 and L2. In sum, it is shown that this model provides the currently most comprehensive description, explanation, and prediction of L2 sound perception. It successfully incorporates an L2 phenomenon which was commonly regarded as phonetic or psycholinguistic within the domain of phonology, a modelling proposal which follows the tradition started by Escudero and Boersma (2004).