Doctoral Dissertation Research: The production and perception of subject focus prosody in second languages

英语和西班牙语是美国使用最广泛的两种语言，而且说西班牙语的人数还在不断增加。因此，越来越多只说英语长大的美国人有兴趣学习西班牙语作为第二语言。然而，语法错误和发音错误往往会导致沟通失败。第二语言教学往往侧重于词汇、句法和目的语语音的习得，而很少关注语调或语音的旋律。重要的是，非母语语调已被证明会在说话者试图传达的意图方面造成误解。语调传达了广泛的含义，包括（但绝不限于）句子类型、惊讶、焦点和礼貌。非母语人士倾向于将母语中与特定意义相关的旋律转移到第二语言中，但语调与其许多意义之间的关系因语言而异。因此，非母语人士经常在无意中用第二语言表达错误的意思。例如，有研究表明，以西班牙语为母语的人对说英语的人来说听起来很粗鲁，因为他们使用的音调动作不那么夸张，而对说西班牙语的人来说，说英语的人听起来可能过于兴奋。因此，教师在课堂上非常需要关注语调。需要更多的研究来了解学习者在学习第二语言的语调模式时可能面临的具体类型的问题，以及与之相关的意义。本研究的重点是语调如何被用来表示信息状态，即对话中的信息对听者来说是新的还是旧的。例如，如果A问B“谁吃了蛋糕？”， B可以回答：“玛丽吃了蛋糕。”在这种情况下，“玛丽”这个词的语调与a对B说“莎拉吃了蛋糕”而B知道实际上是玛丽吃了蛋糕的情况相比可能会有所不同。在这里，B可以使用纠正语调来指出A错了：“MARY吃了蛋糕”。与此同时，在第二种情况下，“吃蛋糕”这个词的语调重要性可能会降低，因为有人吃蛋糕的事实已经在对话中被激活了。这表明说话者意识到对话中的信息是新的还是旧的，并根据这些差异修改他们的语调模式。然而，西班牙语和英语在语调策略上有所不同。本研究旨在了解未接受过正式语调使用指导的学习者如何在整个学习过程中意识到语调差异。Sanchez女士将进行生产和感知实验，旨在了解美国大学生如何能够生产和理解西班牙语的语调策略来传达信息状态。虽然这项研究在理论上很重要，但也有实际和教学意义，应该允许非母语人士更好地传达他们的意图和理解他人的意图。

English and Spanish are the most widely spoken languages in the United States, and the number of Spanish speakers continues to grow. As such, more Americans who grew up speaking only English are interested in acquiring Spanish as a second language. Nonetheless, mistakes in grammar and mispronunciation can often lead to unsuccessful communication. While second language instruction tends to focus on the acquisition of vocabulary, syntax and the sounds of the target language, little attention is paid to intonation, or the melody of speech. Importantly, non-native intonation has been shown to cause misunderstandings in terms of the intentions a speaker is trying to convey. Intonation conveys a wide array of meanings, including (but by no means limited to) sentence-type, surprise, focus and politeness. Non-native speakers tend to transfer the melodies associated with specific meanings in their native tongue to their second language, but the relationship between intonation and its many meanings differs from language to language. Therefore, non-native speakers often unintentionally communicate the wrong meaning in their second language. For example, it has been shown that native speakers of Spanish sound rude to English speakers since they use less exaggerated pitch movements, while English speakers may sound over-excited to Spanish-speaking listeners. Therefore, there is a great need for instructors to focus on intonation in the classroom. More research is needed to understand what specific types of issues learners might face when learning the intonation patterns of a second language, and the meanings associated with them. The present study focuses on how intonation is used to signal information status, that is, whether information in a conversation is new or old to the listener. For instance, if A asks B "Who ate the cake? ", B can respond, "Mary ate the cake". The intonation used on the word "Mary" in this context could differ when compared to a context where A says to B, "Sarah ate the cake", while B knows that it was actually Mary that ate the cake. Here B could use corrective intonation to indicate that A was wrong: "MARY ate the cake". At the same time, reduced intonational prominence might be given to the words ate the cake in the second scenario since the fact that someone ate the cake was already activated in the conversation. This shows that speakers are aware of whether information in conversation is new or old, and modify their intonation patterns based on these differences. However, Spanish and English differ in their intonational strategies for doing so. This research aims to understand how learners who have not received formal instruction on the uses of intonation become aware of intonational differences throughout the learning process. Ms. Sanchez will carry out both production and perception experiments designed to understand how U.S. college students are able to produce and comprehend Spanish intonational strategies for conveying information status. While the work is of theoretical importance, there are practical and pedagogical implications that should allow for non-native speakers to better convey their intentions and understand the intentions of others.