Input modality effects in foreign accent

Foreign accent identification based on prosodic parameters

In this paper we propose an automatic approach for foreign accent identification. Knowledge of the speaker’s origin allows to adapt acoustic models for non-native speech recognition. In this study, we use a statistical approach based on prosodic parameters. This approach relies on the fact that prosody is different between languages, and has been done within the framework of the HIWIRE (Human I...

Perceived Foreign Accent in Three Varieties of Non-native English*

What aspects of the speech signal cause listeners to perceive a foreign accent? While many studies have explored this question for a single variety of non-native speech, few have simultaneously considered non-native speech from multiple native language backgrounds. In this perception study, American Englishspeaking listeners rated stop-vowel sequences extracted from English words produced by L1...

Comparing foreign accent in L1 attrition and L2 acquisition 1 Comparing foreign accent in L1 attrition and L2 acquisition: Range and rater effects

The Phonological Basis of Foreign Accent , ' A Hypothesis

Foreign accent is often thought to be the result of an age-related diminution in the ability to learn to pronounce languages. Existing studies of L2 pronunciation, however, do not seem to support the claim that there is some fundamental difference between children and adults in phonetic learning ability. The continued presence of foreign accent may instead be a consequence of the establishment ...

Effects of Rater's Attention on the Perceived Degree of Foreign Accent

The present study examined how native English speakers in Canada assessed the degree of foreign accent in nonnative speech when they were required to focus on the content of an utterance. The native English listeners were asked to listen to English sentences produced by speakers of Japanese, Mandarin, and Tamil, and to rate their foreign accent on a 9-point scale in two different rating tasks. ...