Exploring pre-attentive detection of native and accented English speech as a function of second language acquisition in Cantonese-English bilinguals

Abstract

Concerns about the interference of L1 language systems for L2 English speakers have resulted in the use of English proficiency tests as a common metric of gauging an individual’s English language competence. However, a key failing of proficiency tests is their susceptibility to various conscious strategies that could potentially influence the score. The aim of this study is to examine whether lexical stress could be considered an objective measure of linguistic proficiency through the elicitation of automatic mismatch negativity as well as a comparison of MMN elicitation with IELTS overall scores. Considering that most previous research comparing the acquisition of a second language have focused on non-tonal languages or on Mandarin, another novel aspect of this study is the focus on the tonal language of Cantonese as the original L1.

Eleven Cantonese-English bilinguals scoring on the higher band of IELTS listened to pseudorandomized words containing a familiar vowel (/æ/) or a new vowel (/a/) pronounced in either an American or Cantonese accent in a passive oddball paradigm. The aim was to determine if the CE bilinguals would show native like MMN responses for both vowels and accents, suggesting the presence of separate phonemic representations for each and indicating the internalization of both L1 Cantonese and L2 English language systems. The results support the idea that English proficiency tests may not be the most objective measure of language competence, and additionally raise concerns about the extent to which CE bilinguals have internalized the English language system, given the largely classroom oriented nature of their language acquisition.