HL2C / Phonetics Lab Seminar: Qi Zheng (Peking University): Native Phonology, Allophonic Split, and Phonotactic Constraint on L2 Phonolexical Encoding and Further Consolidation of Fuzzy Lexical Representations

Presenter(s): Qi Zheng (Peking University)

Date: Friday, November 15, 2024, 2pm to 3pm

How to join: To attend (via Teams), please email Professor Patrick Rebuschat.

About: This is a joint event, co-organized by the Heritage Language 2 Consortium (HL2C), the NLT L2 Speech Forum, and the Lancaster Phonetics Lab.

Abstract:

This research investigates how native phonology, allophonic variation, and phonotactic constraints shape the encoding of second language (L2) words with novel phonological contrasts, focusing on Mandarin Chinese speakers learning the English /v/–/w/ distinction. Drawing on the fuzzy lexical representations hypothesis (Gor & Cook, 2020; Gor et al., 2021; Zheng & Gor, 2024), the study examines how L1 allophony subject to phonotactic constraints impacts L2 phonolexical encoding and consolidation. Results show that learners with more allophonic variation in L1 phonology exhibit greater fuzziness in L2 lexical encoding, and only learners with no variability in L1 allophonic use consolidate the initially unstable representations. The degree of fuzziness in lexical representations was jointly predicted by L1 allophonic variation subject to phonotactic constraints and L2 phonological categorization.