Pnological Assimilation in the English of Native and Non-Native Speakers

Abstract

Phonological assimilation is a common occurrence in the native speech but does this means that experienced second language speakers also have similar feature in their speech? This study examines the frequency for the use of phonological assimilation or connected speech modifications by experienced non-native speakers (NNS) of English and native speakers (NS) of British English in the speech. It is done by comparing reading and spontaneous speech performance by both groups. Results indicate that the NS group assimilates more than the NNS in their speech production although the NNS participants are experienced English language instructors. In addition to studying the frequency of phonological assimilation, this study also investigates the most common type of phonological assimilation that takes place in the speech of both groups and the relationship between the frequencies of assimilation in speech with the degree of language formality.