Abstract
This study explored the relationship between second language (L2) acquisition and first language (L1) attrition of speech in late consecutive English-German bilinguals living in an L2 country (Austria). We acoustically examined the bilinguals’ realizations of the lax vowel /ɪ/ in both of their languages and compared their productions to monolingual productions of English and German, respectively. Despite some individual-speaker variation, results showed that those speakers who produced the L2 target vowel in a native-like manner, as manifested in a tensing of /ɪ/ towards /iː/, showed a tendency towards tensing the /ɪ/ vowel also in their L1 English, suggesting L1 attrition. This indicates that successful L2 acquisition of a pronunciation feature might entail attrition of the corresponding feature in speakers’ L1
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS 2023) |
| Editors | Radek Skarnitzl, Jan Volín |
| Publisher | Guarant International |
| Pages | 2785-2789 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9788090811423 |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
| Event | 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS 2023) - Prague Congress Center, Prague, Czech Republic Duration: 7 Aug 2023 → 11 Aug 2023 |
Conference
| Conference | 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS 2023) |
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| Country/Territory | Czech Republic |
| City | Prague |
| Period | 7/08/23 → 11/08/23 |
Keywords
- vowels
- first language attrition
- second language acquisition
- Austrian German
- English