1. Prosody and discourse structure in native and second language : hands on research using PRAATAlessandra Zappoli, 2022, published scientific conference contribution abstract Abstract: This course focuses on the interplay between the speech sciences and the cognitive sciences, addressing the processing and acquisition of prosodic contours in Second Language (L2) Learning.
We will introduce the theoretical framework of Autosegmental Metric Theory of Intonation and ToBI annotation, and we will cover the key notions of signal processing and speech analysis with a hands-on-research practical session, adopting the open-source software PRAAT.
Furthermore, we will present studies targeting the cross-linguistic production of prosodic contours, focusing on the production of native speakers and L2 learners.
Finally, we will address the behavioral and neurophysiological cognitive studies on the auditory processing of prosodic contours, targeting native speakers and L2 learners, and targeting the linguistic and paralinguistic function of pitch in speech. It is suggested to have a laptop and headphones, and to download the software PRAAT at one of the following links:
windows: http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/download_win.html
macintosh: http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/download_mac.html
linux: http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/download_linux.html Keywords: speech, cognitive sciences, PRAAT, prosody, second language acquisition, autosegmental metric theory of intonation, hands-on research, multilingualism Published in RUNG: 30.08.2022; Views: 2069; Downloads: 9 Link to full text This document has many files! More... |
2. All’interfaccia tra prosodia e struttura informativa : la realizzazione prosodica dell’informazione data in tedesco e in italiano L2Cinzia Avesani, Giuliano Bocci, Mario Vayra, Alessandra Zappoli, 2013, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: Germanic and Romance languages differ in the way they assign prosodic prominence within the domain of the utterance in the discourse structure. Italian relies on the hierarchical phonological structure and assigns the prosodic prominence to the metrical head on the right. On the other hand, German assigns prominence combining both the phonological structure and the pragmatic information, considering the degree of activation of a specific referent. Referents that have not been previously mentioned introduce New information in the discourse. New information is marked with prominent pitch patterns. On the contrary, referents that have been already mentioned are cognitively activated in the mind of the hearer and they represent Given information. Given information has been proven to be most frequently deaccented in Germanic languages. In this study, we show that native speakers of Italian, Second Language learners of German, show to have difficulties in the acquisition of the Deaccentuation pattern, and are affected by prosodic transfer from their L1. The L1 prosodic system not being sensitive to the pragmatic cues can assign prominence on a metrical head even if the referent is Given within Discourse. On the contrary, we show that native speakers of German, learning Italian as a second language show to acquire more easily the prosodic pattern of Italian. Keywords: Pitch Accents, Prosody, L2 acquisition, Transfer, Given Information, Deaccenting, German, Italian Published in RUNG: 12.01.2022; Views: 2428; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
3. Prosody and information status in Italian and German L2 intonationCinzia Avesani, Giuliano Bocci, Mario Vayra, 2015, independent scientific component part or a chapter in a monograph Abstract: In this work, we address the systemic difference in the prosodic strategies of accentuation at the utterance level of Italian and German, belonging respectively to Romance and Germanic languages. In particular, we address the Interlanguage properties of the speech produced by adult Second Language Learners of the two languages analyzing their production in semi-spontaneous elicitation contexts.
We focus on the acquisition of the interplay of phonological and discourse structure occurring in German causing Given Information to be prosodically deaccented, because already cognitively activated in the mind of the interlocutor. The Deaccentuation contour is prosodically realized as a flat low pitch contour and is pragmatically assigned in Germanic languages to a non-focused element, even in positions that metrically would require the positioning of a Nuclear Pitch Accent. This strategy is not reported in Italian, causing referents that align to the position of the prosodic metrical head to be standardly pitch-accented. Deaccentuation, is hard to acquire and subject to prosodic transfer when produced by L2 learners native speakers of Italian, especially when aligning with the metrical head requiring accentuation. Italian L2 speakers of German show to accent Given referents because adopting the Italian accentuation strategy, while German L2 speakers of Italian seem to accommodate more easily the accentuation pattern in L2. We provide a possible explanation in light of the Differential Markedness Hypothesis that considers the number of parameters to be acquired by the L2 speakers. Keywords: pitch accents, deaccentuation, German, Italian, discourse structure, L2 acquisition, prosody Published in RUNG: 14.12.2021; Views: 2595; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
4. The mapping between prosody and information structure in German and in Italian L2 learners : who tranfers what?Cinzia Avesani, Giuliano Bocci, Mario Vayra, Alessandra Zappoli, 2013, published scientific conference contribution abstract Keywords: prosody, information status, german, italian, L2 acquisition, Deaccentuation Published in RUNG: 14.12.2021; Views: 2276; Downloads: 41 Link to full text This document has many files! More... |
5. Learning a new intonation pattern also means learning how to use itAlessandra Zappoli, Francesco Vespignani, Stefan Bauman, Martine Grice, Petra Schumacher, unpublished conference contribution Keywords: Intonation, perception, EEG, N400, Late Positivity, L2 acquisition prosody, German Published in RUNG: 14.12.2021; Views: 2461; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
6. Prosodic marking of information status in L2 intonationCinzia Avesani, Giuliano Bocci, Mario Vayra, Alessandra Zappoli, unpublished conference contribution Keywords: Prosody, Information Status, L2 intonation, Deaccentuation, German, Italian, L2 Acquisition Published in RUNG: 14.12.2021; Views: 2343; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
7. Prosodia e Foreign Accent - Prosody and Foreign Accent : Prominenza accentuale e deaccentazione in Italiano e Tedesco come lingue secondeAlessandra Zappoli, 2012, master's thesis Abstract: This thesis investigates the production and acquisition of prosodic contours in Italian learners of German, and German learners of Italian as second languages (L2). The thesis compares speech production in L2 with speech production in the native language (L1). The goal is to verify whether the speech production in L2 is affected by Transfer phenomena that are linked to the phonological properties of the L1. The thesis also tests, in light of the Markedness Differential Hypothesis, whether the direction of acquisition - the acquisition of German as L2, being an L1 speaker of Italian vs. the acquisition of Italian as L2, being an L1 speaker of German – can predict a production in L2 connotated by Foreign Accent (FA). The thesis describes: i) the current state of the art of acquisitional theories of an L2 in adulthood; ii) the theoretical description of the patterns of prosodic prominence in Italian and German within the Autosegmental Theory of Intonation framework; iii) the interaction of the phonological structure with the Information Packaging of the Discourse Structure that differently affects the realization of prosodic patterns in Germanic and Romance languages. Finally, the thesis reports the preliminary results of a production experiment that adopts the paradigm of Swerts et. al (2002) in which participants utter a sequence of Noun-Phrases composed by a Noun and Adjective in which the Information Status rotates between the conditions of New, Given, and Contrastive information. The data highlight the presence of H+L* as the most frequently used Pitch Accent in the production of Italian speakers, that emerges also in the production of the German L2 speakers of Italian; in contrast, the data show the presence of Deaccentuation in the production of L1 speakers of German in correlation with the Given information status of a referent that is not successfully acquired by Italian L1 speakers of German as L2. The data indicate that it appears to be easier to successfully acquire the Italian prosodic system, being a native speaker of German, than vice-versa, supporting the MDH. The facilitatory effect is explainable by the less relevant role of the Discourse Structure in guiding the prominence patterns in Italian, which more heavily relies on the phonological structure, resulting in a less marked prosodic system compared to the prosodic system of German. Keywords: pitch accents, prosody, foreign accent, prominence, second language acquisition, german, Italian, markedness, speech production Published in RUNG: 06.12.2021; Views: 2870; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |