Name: ___________________________
Note: Type your
answers. Any hand-written homework will not be gradated. Do not forget to
staple your assignment (See the syllabus). Your answers should be short and to
the point. However, all relevant information should be provided.
1. The following tables show the
acoustic analysis results in Birdsong (2007). When the author measured the
productions of French vowels and consonants, vowel length and the voice onset
time (VOT) were longer in the late learners of L2-French (LL) group than in the
native speakers of French (NF) controls. Provide two possible reasons why the VOT values for French stops were longer
in the LL than in the NF (See Table 3). 30 points (15 points for each
reason)
Your Answer:
2. Examine the following figure
showing the percentage of /k/ responses as a function of VOT in Caramazza et
al. (1973). The authors made the CV syllables continua varying only in VOT.
They asked three groups of subjects (UE: Unilingual Canadian English speakers;
UF: Unilingual French Canadian speakers; BF & BE: Canadian French-English
bilinguals) to decide whether the VOT variants was voiceless stop (i.e., /k/)
or voiced one (i.e., /g/). The results for /k-g/ continua are shown in the
following figure.
a. The authors concluded that VOT
is a stronger perceptual cue in Canadian English than in Canadian French. How
do the results shown in the figure support their conclusion? Explain
this, referencing the features (or performances) of two groups shown in the
figure, rather than restating (or copying & pasting) what the paper
states on this. (15 points)
Your Answer:
b. The authors also concluded
that the bilinguals are not like any monolinguals (neither UE nor UF) in their
perception of VOT. How do the results in the figure support their conclusion?
Explain this again, referencing the features (or performances) of three
groups shown in the figure. (10 points)
Your Answer:
3. Munro (1993) asked a group of
Arabic speakers and native English speakers to produce a set of English vowels
in /bVd/ frame. One analysis he did was to examine whether two groups (i.e.,
Arabic learners of L2-English and native speakers of English) differed in the
tense-lax duration ratios. Explain 1) what the author found from this
analysis and 2) why he was interested in the tense-lax duration in the first
place. To answer for 2), include his prediction on the tense-lax duration ratio
results in your answer.
1)
Findings (10 points)
Your Answer:
2)
Motivation
of this analysis (15 points)
Your Answer:
4. In the same study of Munro
(1993), he also investigated whether any acoustic data could predict the accentedness
of the Arabic learners’ English production. The following table shows their
multiple regression analysis results. Considering the results in the following
table, is it reasonable for us to discuss one or two acoustic predictor
variable for someone’s entire L2 vowel system? Decide your position (i.e., Yes
or No). Then, Justify your decision. (20 points)
Your Answer:
The End
