In the world of conversational English, brevity often rules the day. A simple utterance like “dunno” might seem insignificant, but this contraction of “I don’t know” carries a wealth of meaning, particularly for native speakers. For non-native English speakers, however, grasping such reductions in speech can be a challenge that requires context and cognitive expansion.
The phenomenon of speech reduction, where parts of words or phrases are omitted, is a common but overlooked aspect of communication. Recent research led by University of Arizona’s Natasha Warner, with co-author Benjamin Tucker from Northern Arizona University, has delved into how non-native speakers perceive these reductions. The study primarily focused on Dutch speakers who are fluent in English, analyzing how they interpret the nuances of reduced English speech.
“The speech signal is packed with lots of information, and a lot of that information is redundant,” explained Tucker. “It’s why we can communicate when there’s lots of noise around—we can default to other cues.”
For non-native listeners, understanding reduced speech often hinges on context. If a question like “Is it cold outside?” is met with a “dunno,” the listener can reasonably infer that the full response would be “I don’t know.” The study found that context is key for non-native speakers to interpret these shortened responses accurately.
To hear examples of English reductions, you can visit Tucker’s lab resources or enjoy a humorous take in a comic strip.
The research also uncovered that certain conversation fillers, like “like,” assist listeners in determining verb tense. For instance, when a speaker uses “he’s,” it might be ambiguous whether it means “he is” or “he was.” However, the presence of “like” in the conversation often helps listeners deduce the correct tense, especially if the story is set in the past.
Even when faced with ambiguous contexts, non-native listeners often correctly interpret the intended meaning, albeit through different listening strategies than native speakers. “There’s something left in the signal that I can’t see, that I can’t figure out, that listeners were able to recover,” Tucker noted.
Implications for Language Learning
Languages worldwide follow varied rules and structures. Non-native speakers rely on cues from their native languages, which often differ from those used in English. This diversity in cue usage means Dutch speakers may interpret English differently than Spanish or Japanese speakers. These cues, deeply embedded in one’s native language, influence perception and understanding.
Tucker commented, “We can never get away from our native language. Your perception is highly influenced by your native language, so non-native listeners are going to use cues that are relevant in their language but not relevant in the second language.”
Applications in Communication Disorders
While the research may not drastically alter second language learning techniques, it holds potential for aiding those with communication disorders. Understanding conversational speech better can inform clinical practices, helping patients transition from clinical settings to real-world interactions. For example, children learning to articulate certain sounds or Parkinson’s patients with speech limitations can benefit from these insights.
In future studies, Tucker aims to explore variations in Spanish pronunciation among different speaker groups, including native speakers, language learners, and heritage speakers who primarily speak English now.
Heidi Toth | NAU Communications
(928) 523-8737 | [email protected]
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