Article published In: Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 7:1 (2018) ► pp.89–108
Contextuele invloeden op de productie van /h/ in het Nederlands van Belgisch-Franstalige leerders
Article language: Dutch
Published online: 10 August 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/dujal.17021.fay
https://doi.org/10.1075/dujal.17021.fay
Abstract
The phoneme /h/ is absent in French and its acquisition has been described as being difficult for second language learners of
Dutch, a language with /h/ in its phoneme inventory. In this study, several factors were examined that may affect the production
of /h/ by Belgian-French learners of Dutch. Specifically, the factors included in this exploratory study were (1) L1-to-L2
transfer, (2) semantic contrastiveness, (3) the monitoring of one’s speech, and (4) educational grade. L1-to-L2 transfer was
operationalized as the effect of liaison/elision contexts on /h/-production. The expectation was liaison contexts might transfer
and would therefore hinder /h/-production. Semantic contrasts in minimal pairs including an h-initial word would elicit more
/h/-productions if that word was contrasted with an empty onset than an onset (oor-hoor) filled by some other
consonant (hand-tand). If a speaker pays more attention to his/her speech in an increased-monitoring task, the
speaker is expected to produce /h/ more often, and finally it was expected that increased exposure to Dutch would result in more
correct productions.
In a cross-sectional study, students from the first, third and sixth grades of secondary education (60 in total, aged between 12
years and 19 years old) took part in two reading-aloud tasks, which were assumed to differ in the degree of speech monitoring they
require. The first task was a text, with which L1-to-L2 transfer was assessed, and the second a list of minimal pairs containing
h-onsets contrasting with either empty or filled onsets. Monitoring was assessed by comparing results between reading tasks.
Results showed that increased monitoring positively influenced the numbers of [h]s produced, but that L1-to-L2 transfer of
liaison/elision contexts did not occur. A small difference between conditions was found, but in the opposite direction. There was
large between-learner variability and no performance increase with amount of exposure from first to sixth grade. Overall,
performance left much room for improvement relative to native Dutch speakers and to the learners’ teacher. Further research is
needed to better understand the development of French-speaker learners’ production of Dutch /h/.
Keywords: second language acquisition, speech production, Dutch, French
Article outline
- 1.Inleiding
- 1.1Factoren in het leren produceren van L2-klanken
- 1.2Onderzoeksvragen
- 2.Methode
- 2.1Deelnemers
- 2.2Ontwerp
- 2.3Procedure
- 2.4Analyse
- 3.Resultaten
- 3.1Transfertaak
- 3.2Minimale parentaak
- 3.3Monitoring en [h]-productie
- 4.Discussie
- 5.Conclusie
- Dankwoord
- Note
Referenties
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