The effects of pronunciation training on the development of second language phonemic categories

概要

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This paper reports a study investigating the influence of prounciation training on the development of second language segmental categories. Japanese learners of English were given explicit instruction in the precise articulation of the English segments [θ], [f], [v], [l] and [〓]. Although they were given no perceptual models in the course of training, subjects' performance on an AX discrimination task exhibited significant improvement relative to controls. This improvement, however, was not uniform across all segmental contrasts tested ([s]〜[θ], [s]〜[f], [b]〜[v], [l]〜[〓], [θ]〜[f], [p]〜[b]). It is proposed that the asymmetry in success of training is due to properties of the native language phonological system. The process of acquiring the system of segmental oppositions in the first language, which can be illustrated in theoretical terms in a feature geometry, imposes on an individual's perceptual system the specific boundaries within which categories are perceived. The phonological knowledge that is characterized by the feature geometry restricts the range of new segmental representations a learner with be able to acquire. Neither exposure to perceptual input nor explicit training in production can trigger the development of segmental representations that require elements absent from the L1 system.
北海学園大学の論文
1997-10-31