The L2 Acquisition of Spanish Rhotics by L1 English Speakers: The Effect of L1 Articulatory Routines and Phonetic Context for Allophonic Variation

This article offers a fine-grained investigation of how first-language (L1) phonetics involving English rhotics affect Spanish rhotic production by second-language (L2) learners. Specifically, this study investigates how different L1 English rhotic articulatory routines (retroflex-like and bunched-like) and the phonetic context that produces allophonic taps in English affect the accuracy of Spanish rhotic pronunciation by L2 learners. Tap and trill accuracy rates as well as English rhotic articulation were calculated from recordings of forty-eight beginning-level university Spanish students reading texts in Spanish and English. Results from multiple linear regressions show that English rhotic articulation is a significant predictor of trill accuracy and is a predictor of tap accuracy when controlling for amount of Spanish exposure. These results suggest that L1 articulatory routines affect the accuracy of tap and trill production. Results from a paired samples t-test show that a significantly high percentage of accurately produced taps in Spanish were found in words that follow the same articulatory context that produces taps in English. These results suggest that an overarching theory of the second language acquisition of phonology should consider how subtle differences in L1 articulatory routines and transfer of L1 phonetic context of allophones to L2 phonemes influences L2 speech production.