Georgetown University LogoGeorgetown University Library LogoDigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Georgetown College
    • Department of Linguistics
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Linguistics
    • View Item
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Georgetown College
    • Department of Linguistics
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Linguistics
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    The Interaction of Lexical and Discourse-Level Categories in Second Language Phonetics

    Cover for The Interaction of Lexical and Discourse-Level Categories in Second Language Phonetics
    View/Open
    View/Open: Teague_georgetown_0076D_11510.pdf (2.1MB) Bookview

    Creator
    Teague, Kimberly Laine
    Advisor
    Zsiga, Elizabeth
    Abstract
    This dissertation examines the interaction between lexical and discourse level categories in second language speech; specifically, the interaction of tone and intonation in the speech of Mandarin learners of English. The topic is investigated by analyzing recordings of 14 monolingual speakers of Mandarin, 16 Mandarin-English bilinguals, and 16 monolingual speakers of English producing word-lists, and statements and questions in both languages. The following questions are addressed:
     
    (1) Does the Speech Learning Model (SLM) extend to tone and intonation?
     
    The SLM predicts merger of L1 and L2 segmental categories, but has never been expanded to the suprasegmental level. The predictions of the SLM at both levels were tested here by examining Voice Onset Time (VOT) of Mandarin /ph/ and English /p/, timing of F0 peak in Mandarin H and English H*L, and rate of declination in word-lists. Mandarin-English speakers produced both Mandarin-like and English-like phonetic variants in both languages. Thus, a bi-directional interaction that was similar to segmental interaction was found between Mandarin tone and English intonation. The category merger predicted by the SLM was not found, however, at either the segmental or suprasegmental level.
     
    (2) Which model of tone and intonation, the Autosegmental Metrical (AM) or the Parallel Encoding and Target Approximation (PENTA) model, best accounts for Mandarin-English intonation?
     
    It is argued that the findings of this study are best accounted for by AM because (a) tone and intonation interact bi-directionally at the phonetic level, and (b) Mandarin-English intonation can be accounted for through sequences of level tones.
     
    Two different intonation patterns were found in Mandarin-English statements and questions. In the first pattern, a L boundary tone (L#) marked the right edge of every contrastive focus word in statements and questions; these utterances also had a low post-focus pitch register. In the second pattern, the L# was found in statements, but a H boundary tone occurred in questions; statements had a low post-focus pitch register, while questions had a high one. It is suggested that, since pitch register is predictable from tonal pattern, only tones need be represented to account for Mandarin-English intonation, consistent with an AM account.
     
    Description
    Ph.D.
    Permanent Link
    http://hdl.handle.net/10822/558129
    Date Published
    2011
    Subject
    AM; intonation; L2 phonology; PENTA; Speech Learning Model; tone; Linguistics; English language; Study and teaching; Foreign speakers; Linguistics; English as a second language;
    Type
    thesis
    Publisher
    Georgetown University
    Extent
    205 leaves
    Collections
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Linguistics
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Cover for Gesture in Multiparty Interaction: A Study of Embodied Discourse in Spoken English and American Sign Language

      Gesture in Multiparty Interaction: A Study of Embodied Discourse in Spoken English and American Sign Language 

      Shaw, Emily (Georgetown University, 2013)
      This dissertation is an examination of gesture in two game nights: one in spoken English between four hearing friends and another in American Sign Language between four Deaf friends. Analyses of gesture have shown there ...
    Related Items in Google Scholar

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2022 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility
     

     

    Browse

    All of DigitalGeorgetownCommunities & CollectionsCreatorsTitlesBy Creation DateThis CollectionCreatorsTitlesBy Creation Date

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2022 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility