On the mental representations of L2 English /z/ among L1 Chinese speakers

The study investigates how L1 Taiwan Mandarin speakers perceive the L2 English voiced /z/, whose counterpart is not directly available in Taiwan Mandarin. A transcription task was conducted to allow participants to freely choose Taiwan Mandarin segments they perceive as suitable substitutes for Engl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inActa psychologica Vol. 256; p. 105051
Main Authors Lin, Yu-Leng, Liu, Chin-Ting
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.06.2025
Elsevier
Subjects
Adaptation
Adult
Category mapping
East Asian People
Female
Humans
L1 transfer
L2 acquisition
Language
Male
Mental representation
Multilingualism
Phonetics
Psycholinguistics
Speech Perception - physiology
Taiwan
Young Adult
Taiwan
L2 acquisition
Mental representation
L1 transfer
Category mapping
Adaptation
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Summary:The study investigates how L1 Taiwan Mandarin speakers perceive the L2 English voiced /z/, whose counterpart is not directly available in Taiwan Mandarin. A transcription task was conducted to allow participants to freely choose Taiwan Mandarin segments they perceive as suitable substitutes for English /z/. Using a substitution pattern analysis, the study aims to understand the challenges faced by these speakers in acquiring English /z/. Three theoretical accounts—Feature Match Account, Auditory Salience Account, and Composite Phonetic Category Account—predicted differently regarding how L1 Taiwan Mandarin speakers might represent English /z/ in their mental grammar. The results indicate that /ts/ is frequently chosen as the optimal substitute for English /z/ in Taiwan Mandarin. An AXB discrimination task further revealed that the participants perceptually clustered English /z/ with the Mandarin segments /ts/, /ʐ/, and /s/, with /ts/ perceived as the closest match. The results suggest variability in category formation, with possible composite categories for English /z/ linked to Mandarin segments within a shared L1/L2 phonetic space. The perceptual boundaries between L1 and L2 categories appear fluid, reflecting ongoing interaction and competition in this shared phonetic space. This research contributes to our understanding of L2 speech perception strategies and the interplay between native and acquired language sounds.
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ISSN:0001-6918
1873-6297
1873-6297
DOI:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105051