The emergence of speech segmentation in adult L2 learners of French

Abstract

The beginning stages of speech segmentation in a second language (L2) have received little attention to date. The literature on L2 phonological acquisition tends to focus on learner populations who have access to discrete (orthographic) forms through exposure to the L2 in a classroom setting. Specifically, the existing literature on L2 acquisition of French liaison holds that the processing of liaison is greatly influenced by orthographic representations and that L1 and L2 phonological learning subsequently follow distinctly different developmental paths. We present data suggesting that more naturalistic L2 learners, who have had little formal L2 instruction and whose exposure is primarily oral, process liaison employing strategies previously observed only in children learning L1 French, calling into question the assumption that L1 and L2 phonological acquisition differ fundamentally and suggesting rather that phonological development depends on both the quality and quantity of the input to which the L2 learner is exposed.