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In:Research at the Intersection of Second Language Acquisition and Sociolinguistics: Studies in honor of Kimberly L. Geeslin
Edited by Megan Solon, Matthew Kanwit and Aarnes Gudmestad
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 43] 2025
► pp. 178–202

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Chapter 7
Interlocutor perceptions of regional phone use in L2 Spanish

The Castilian Spanish /θ/

 | Indiana University
 | Elon University
Published online: 26 June 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.43.07han
Abstract
This study examines native and second-language (L2) learner perceptions of the regionally indexed Castilian Spanish /θ/ in learner speech. Native and L2 listeners evaluated how intelligent, kind, and nativelike L2 learners sounded in Spanish when they produced read speech with /θ/ and /s/. Significantly higher intelligence ratings were given to speech with /θ/, but only by native listeners from outside of North-Central Spain. In contrast, L2 listeners rated speech with /s/ as more intelligent and, in some cases, more nativelike than speech with /θ/, with some individual speaker variability occurring, especially when overall pronunciation scores were lower. These findings suggest that L2 learners may be perceived differently by native speaker and peer interlocutors when they adopt regional variants.
Article outline
  • Background
    • Beliefs and perceptions of “correct” Spanish in and outside of the classroom
    • Occurrence of /θ/ and L2 learner adoption rates
    • Comparing perceptions by regional varieties
    • Theoretical framework and research questions
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Instruments and stimuli
    • Independent and dependent variables and statistical analysis
  • Results
    • Native listener ratings
    • L2 listener ratings
  • Discussion
    • Intelligence ratings
    • Kindness ratings
    • Nativelike pronunciation ratings
    • Implications
  • Conclusion
  • References
References (58)
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