Voice onset time in foreign accent imitations by English l1 speakers in cinematography
https://doi.org/10.26907/2782-4756-2026-84-2-32-43
Abstract
The paper considers voice onset time (VOT) of voiceless stops as a possible acoustic cue and a salient feature of a foreign accent in the Russian and French accent imitations by English L1 speakers in English cinematography. The studies of pronunciation tendencies in English L2 tend to show evidence of shorter VOT values for voiceless stops in English L2 speakers if their native tongue is a non-aspiration one. Deviations from the native VOT values could be considered by L1 speakers as a marker of a foreign accent. The conducted quantitative acoustic analysis and the results of statistical processing show that a short-lag positive VOT for voiceless stops is a productive means of imitation of the French accent in one-consonant onsets, and less so in the imitated Russian accent. Violations of English native pronunciation habits are less likely in complex consonantal structures, such as s + stop or s + sonorant. The place of articulation of the voiceless plosive remains important for VOT duration even in deliberate accent imitations.
About the Author
K. V. Efremova
State University “Dubna”
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Efremova Ksenia Valerievna, Assistant Professor
18, Universitetskaya Str., Dubna, Moscow Region, 141982
References
1. Hao, Y.-C., Jong, K. de. (2016). Imitation of Second Language Sounds in Relation to L2 Perception and Production. Journal of Phonetics. Vol. 54, pp. 151–168. (In English)
2. Kodzasov, S. V., Krivnova, O. F. (2001). Obshchaya fonetika [General Phonetics]. 590 p. Moskva, RGGU. (In Russian)
3. Collins, B., Mees, I. M. (2013). Practical Phonetics and Phonology: A Resource Book for Students. 3rd ed. 329 p. New York, Routledge. (In English)
4. Ashby, M., Maidmen,t J. A. (2005). Introducing Phonetic Science. 222 p. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, (In English)
5. Shevchenko, T. I. i dr. (2015). Sotsiofoneticheskie metody analiza zvuchashhei rechi: ucheb. posobie dlya bakalavrov, magistrov, aspirantov, obuchajushhihsya po spetsial'nostyam napravleniya “Lingvistika” [Sociophonetic Methods for Analyzing Oral Speech]. Pod red. E. A. Buraya, T. I. Shevchenko. 212 p. Dubna, Feniks +. (In Russian)
6. Lisker, L., Abramson, A. S. (1964). A CrossLanguage Study of Voicing in Initial Stops: Acoustical Measurements. WORD. Vol. 20. No. 3, pp. 384–422. (In English)
7. Zlatin, M. A., Koenigsknecht, R. A. (1976). Development of the Voicing Contrast: A Comparison of Voice Onset Time in Stop Perception and Production. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research. Vol. 19. No. 1, pp. 93–111. (In English)
8. Keating, P. A. (1984). Phonetic and Phonological Representation of Stop Consonant Voicing. Language. Vol. 60. No. 2, pp. 286. (In English)
9. Abramson, A. S., Whalen, D. H. (2017). Voice Onset Time (VOT) at 50: Theoretical and Practical Issues in Measuring Voicing Distinctions. Journal of Phonetics. Vol. 63, pp 75–86. (In English)
10. Cho, T., Whalen, D. H., Docherty, G. (2019). Voice Onset Time and Beyond: Exploring Laryngeal Contrast in 19 Languages. Journal of Phonetics. Vol. 72, pp. 52–65. (In English)
11. Beckman, J., Jessen, M., Ringen, C. (2013). Empirical Evidence for Laryngeal Features: Aspirating vs. True Voice Languages. J. Ling. Vol. 49. No. 2, pp. 259–284ю (In English)
12. Yanushevskaya, I., Bunčić, D. (2015). Russian. Journal of the International Phonetic Association. Vol. 45. No. 2, pp. 221–228. (In English)
13. Fougeron, C., Smith, C. L. (1993). French. Journal of the International Phonetic Association. Vol. 23. No. 2, pp. 73–76. (In English)
14. Nearey, T. M., Rochet, B. L. (1994). Effects of Place of Articulation and Vowel Context on VOT Production and Perception for French and English Stops. Journal of the International Phonetic Association. Vol. 24. No.1, pp. 1–18. (In English)
15. Ashby, P. (2011). Voice Onset Time. Understanding Phonetics. Pp. 124–127. London, Hodder Education. (In English)
16. Docherty, G. J. (1992). The Timing of Voicing in British English Obstruents. 289 p. Berlin, New York, De Gruyter Mouton. (In English)
17. Klatt, D. H. (1975). Voice Onset Time, Frication, and Aspiration in Word-Initial Consonant Clusters. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research. Vol. 18. No. 4, pp. 686–706. (In English)
18. Kulikov, V. (2013). Voicing Contrast in Consonant Clusters: Evidence Against Sonorant Transparency to Voice Assimilation in Russian. Phonology. Vol. 30. No. 3, pp. 423–452. (In English)
19. Kulikov, V. (2019). Effects of Speaking Rate and Sonority on Voicing Duration in Russian Obstruents. IJLL. Vol. 6. No. 1, pp. 35–50. (In English)
20. Vikhrova, A. Y., Lypkan, T. V. (2023). Voice Onset Time in Plosive Occlusives in the Oral Speech of Monolinguals in Russia. Philology. Theory & Practice. Vol. 16. No. 9, pp. 2741–2751. (In Russain)
21. Kharlamov, V. (2018). Prevoicing and Prenasalization in Russian Initial Plosives. Journal of Phonetics. Vol. 71, pp. 215–228. (In English)
22. Ringen C., Kulikov V. (2012). Voicing in Russian Stops: Cross-Linguistic Implications. Journal of Slavic Linguistics. Vol. 20. No. 2, pp. 269–286. (In English)
23. Lein, T., Kupisch, T., Weijer J. van de. (2016). Voice Onset Time and Global Foreign Accent in German– French Simultaneous Bilinguals during Adulthood. International Journal of Bilingualism. Vol. 20. No. 6, pp.732– 749. (In English)
24. Kulikov, V. (2012). Voicing and Voice Assimilation in Russian Stops. 192 p. Iowa City, University of Iowa. (In English)
25. Cho, T., Ladefoged, P. (1999). Variation and Universals in VOT: Evidence from 18 Languages. Journal of Phonetics. Vol. 27. No. 2, pp. 207–229. (In English)
26. Gonet, W., Święciński, R. (2012). More on the Voicing of English Obstruents: Voicing Retention vs. Voicing Loss. RiL. Vol. 10. No. 2, pp. 183–199. (In English)
27. Nakai, S., Scobbie, J. M. (2016). The VOT Category Boundary in Word-Initial Stops: Counter-Evidence Against Rate Normalization in English Spontaneous Speech. Laboratory Phonology. Vol. 7. No. 1: 13, pp. 1–31. (In English)
28. Miller, J. L., Green, K. P., Reeves, A. (1986). Speaking Rate and Segments: A Look at the Relation between Speech Production and Speech Perception for the Voicing Contrast. Phonetica. Vol. 43. No. 1–3, pp. 106–113. (In English)
29. Chodroff, E. R., Baese-Berk, M. (2019). Constraints on Variability in the Voice Onset Time of L2 English Stop Consonants. Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Ed. S. Calhoun, P. Escudero, M. Tabain. Pp. 661–665. Canberra, Australia, ASSTA Inc. (In English)
30. Flege, J. E. (1987). The Production of “New” and “Similar” Phones in a Foreign Language: Evidence for the Effect of Equivalence Classification. Journal of Phonetics. Vol. 15. No. 1, pp. 47–65. (In English)
31. Flege, J. E., Hillenbrand, J. (1984). Limits on Phonetic Accuracy in Foreign Language Speech Production. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Vol. 76. No. 3, pp. 708–721. (In English)
32. Flege, J. E., Eefting, W. (1987). Production and Perception of English Stops by Native Spanish Speakers. Journal of Phonetics. Vol. 15. No. 1, pp. 67–83. (In English)
33. Caramazza, A. et al. (1973). The Acquisition of a New Phonological Contrast: The Case of Stop Consonants in French-English Bilinguals. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Vol. 54. No. 2, pp. 421–428. (In English)
34. Gabriel, C., Krause, M., Dittmers, T. (2018.) VOT Production in Multilingual Learners of French as a Foreign Language: Cross-linguistic Influence from the Heritage Languages Russian and Turkish. Revue française de linguistique appliquée. Vol. XXIII. No. 1, pp. 59–72. (In English)
35. Nagy, N., Kochetov, A. (2013). Voice Onset Time Across the Generations: A Cross-Linguistic Study of Contact-Induced Change. Multilingualism and language contact in urban areas: Acquisition—Development— Teaching—Communication. Ed. P. Siemund et al. Pp. 19–38. Amsterdam, Philadelphia, John Benjamins Publishing Company. (In English)
36. Lypkan’, T. V. (2018). Realization of Voiceless and Voiced Plosive Consonants in the Russian Speech of Bilingual Children in Germany. Philology. Theory & Practice. No. 6, pp. 104–111. (In Russian)
37. Fowler, C. et al. (2003). Rapid Access to Speech Gestures in Perception: Evidence from Choice and Simple Response Time Tasks. Journal of Memory and Language. Vol. 49. No. 3, pp. 396–413. (In English)
38. Nielsen, K. (2011). Specificity and Abstractness of VOT Imitation. Journal of Phonetics. Vol. 39. No. 2, pp.132–142. (In English)
39. Cruttenden, A. (2014). Gimson’s Pronunciation of English. 8th ed. 381 p. London; New York, Routledge. (In English)
40. Roach, P. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course. 4th ed. 231 p. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press. (In English)
41. Boersma, P., Weenik, D. (2024). Praat: Doing Phonetics by Computer. URL: http://www.praat.org (accessed: 07.08.2024). (In English)
42. The jamovi project (2023). Jamovi. (Version 2.4). URL: https://www.jamovi.org (accessed: 18.10.2024). (In English)
43. Jansen, W. (2007). Phonological ‘Voicing’, Phonetic Voicing, and Assimilation in English. Language Sciences. Vol. 29. No. 2, pp. 270–293. (In English)
44. Xiu, N. et al. (2024). Lie Detection Based on Acoustic Analysis. Journal of Voice. S08921997(24)00237-6. (In English)
Review
For citations:
Efremova K.V. Voice onset time in foreign accent imitations by English l1 speakers in cinematography. Philology and Culture. 2026;(2):32-43. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.26907/2782-4756-2026-84-2-32-43
Views:
47
JATS XML
Email this article 