ERIC Number: EJ980484
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Oct
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1366-7289
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Available Date: N/A
Disentangling Accent from Comprehensibility
Trofimovich, Pavel; Isaacs, Talia
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, v15 n4 p905-916 Oct 2012
The goal of this study was to determine which linguistic aspects of second language speech are related to accent and which to comprehensibility. To address this goal, 19 different speech measures in the oral productions of 40 native French speakers of English were examined in relation to accent and comprehensibility, as rated by 60 novice raters and three experienced teachers. Results showed that both constructs were associated with many speech measures, but that accent was uniquely related to aspects of phonology, including rhythm and segmental and syllable structure accuracy, while comprehensibility was chiefly linked to grammatical accuracy and lexical richness.
Descriptors: Experienced Teachers, Syllables, French, Pronunciation, Second Language Learning, Speech, Native Speakers, English (Second Language), Correlation, Phonology, Language Rhythm, Grammar, Evaluators, Novices
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
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Language: English
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