Bilingual Comprehension of Accented Speech and Spoken Code Switches
Abstract
Across three experiments, the current study explored how accented speech and coarticulation impact how bilingual listeners comprehend code-switches in speech. Eye-tracking methodology was used to compare responses to single-language and code-switched sentences. Experiment 1 observed how accented speech influenced the costs involved in comprehending code-switches by comparing responses to speakers that had North American English accents to speakers with Juarez/El Paso Spanish accents when speaking English. Experiment 2 compared responses to English speech produced by speakers with North American English, Flemish, and Bulgarian accented speakers. To examine coarticulation as a cue to an upcoming code-switch, Experiment 3 compared naturally produced speech to speech that manipulated coarticulation prior to a code-switch. Results demonstrated that switch costs are involved in the comprehension of code-switches, non-English accents impact a listeners’ comprehension of English speech, and the relative impacts of accent on switch costs vary across accent types. Additionally, the subtle cue of coarticulation assists listeners when comprehending code-switches. These findings suggest that bilinguals may use accent as a cue to anticipate upcoming speech. However, when a cue is deemed unreliable based on a bilingual’s previous experiences, the listener then uses sub-lexical cues such as coarticulation to facilitate the comprehension of code-switches.
Subject Area
Cognitive psychology|Linguistics|Bilingual education|Speech therapy
Recommended Citation
Gleason, Liam John, "Bilingual Comprehension of Accented Speech and Spoken Code Switches" (2024). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI31298222.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI31298222