Is there adaptation of speech production after speech perception in bilingual interaction?

In dialogue, speakers tend to adapt their speech to the speech of their interlocutor. Adapting speech production to preceding speech input may be particularly relevant for second language (L2) speakers interacting with native (L1) speakers, as adaptation may facilitate L2 learning. Here we asked whether Dutch-English bilinguals adapt pronunciation of the English phonemes /æ/ and coda /b/ when reading aloud sentences after exposure to native English speech. Additionally, we tested whether social context (presence or absence of a native English confederate) and time lag between perception and production of the phoneme affected adaptation. Participants produced more English-like target words that ended in word-final /b/ after exposure to target phonemes produced by a native speaker, but the participants did not change their production of the phoneme /æ/ after exposure to native /æ/. The native English speaking confederate did not show consistent changes in speech production after exposure to target phonemes produced by L2 speakers. These findings are in line with Gambi and Pickering’s simulation theory of phonetic imitation (2013).

Broos, W.P.J., Dijkgraaf, A., Van Assche, E., Vander Beken, H., Dirix, N., Lagrou, E., Hartsuiker, R.J., Duyck, W. (in press). Is there adaptation of speech production after speech perception in bilingual interaction? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. Impact Factor: 2.667. Ranking Q2. PDF available here