Processing prosody across languages, varieties, and nativeness

01/01/2016 to 31/12/2017

The overall scientific aim is to investigate the processing of variability in the prosodic domain (intonation, rhythm) in two closely related languages (English, German). Although both languages have broadly similar prosody (e.g., are stress languages), precise timing patterns
differ both across these languages and across varieties of each (Northern vs. Southern German; US, British, and Australian English). These subtle differences can signal semantic contrasts and are hence vital for communication. Language learners transfer their native
language (L1) timing patterns to second languages (L2), however, leading to potential comprehension difficulty. Although research on comprehension of L2 or accented speech has expanded recently, prosodic factors have hardly been addressed. Our comparisons across
languages (English, German), varieties of each, and nativeness (L1, 2) will comprehensively address the case of prosodic processing differences for the first time.