Ulrike Gut Boeken

Based on an innovative corpus-based approach, this book offers a comprehensive survey of the phonological and phonetic properties of L2 speech in English and German. The first part of the book critically examines current theoretical models and research methodologies in the field of second language acquisition of phonology and describes the advances that have been made in corpus linguistics over the past few years – in particular, the development of phonological learner corpora. It furthermore presents the first learner corpus of L2 English and L2 German that is fully aligned and has extensive phonological annotations: the LeaP corpus. The second part of the book describes the results of the quantitative and qualitative corpus analyses in the following areas of non-native speech: fluency, final consonant cluster realisation, vowel reduction and speech rhythm, intonation and general foreign accent. In addition, the influence of many non-linguistic factors, including instruction and a stay abroad, on the phonological properties of non-native speech is explored.

This comprehensive textbook provides a practical introduction to English phonetics and phonology. Assuming no prior background, the author outlines all of the core concepts and methods of phonetics and phonology and presents the basic facts in a clear and straightforward manner. In sections marked as advanced reading it is shown how these concepts and methods are applied in language acquisition and language teaching. The textbook contains exercises, an index, suggestions for further reading and many audio examples on the accompanying CD-ROM. An essential text for students embarking on the study of English sounds at B. A. level and beyond.

This Element focuses on phonetic and phonological development in multilinguals and presents a novel methodological approach to it within Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). We show how phonetic and phonological development is feature-dependent and inter-connected and how learning experience affects the process.

This book investigates the acquisition of intonation by German/English bilingual children. Intonation is analysed both auditorily and instrumentally, and the transcription system of the British Tradition and the ToBI system in the autosegmental-metrical approach of intonation analysis are employed. Based on longitudinal data of three children comprising the ages 2 years 1 month (2;1) to 5 years 6 months (5;6), the acquisition sequence for the phonological rules and phonetic production of nucleus placement, pitch and intonational phrasing is sketched. Some phonological functions of nucleus placement and pitch such as the marking of contrast or the type of speech act are mastered as early as 2;1 whilst intonational phrasing is first used phonologically at 4;6. Mastery of the phonetic production of all three intonational systems is acquired much later, and acquisition is not completed yet at 5;6. In general, interindividual differences and a clear separation of both language systems are apparent in all children, with a considerable time lag in the acquisition of the weaker language. It is concluded that both transcription systems for intonation need to be modified for the analysis of child speech and that the autosegmental-metrical approach with its distinction between the phonological and the phonetic level proves a more flexible and descriptively valuable tool.

The book is concerned with the acquisition of English phonology, both segmental and suprasegmental, by learners of English as a second language, as a third language and by speakers of a postcolonial (“new”) variety of English. It focuses on the acquisition process and factors influencing it, based on insights from all three disciplines.