Mapping different L1 dialects to L2 words

Abstract

Abstract We ask how dialect experience affects the perception of modified L2 words by speakers of different L1 dialects. Colombian Spanish speakers from Barranquilla (s-aspirating dialect) and Bogota (non-s-aspirating dialect) carried out cross-dialect phonological priming experiments in Spanish and L2 English. For Spanish, primes and targets were counterbalanced across dialect features. For English, half the primes and targets exhibited the /s/-aspiration of the Barranquilla dialect. Results showed an interaction between trial type and group for the s-aspirated forms. The Barranquilla group showed a significant priming effect in Spanish and also for the nonword /s/-aspirated forms in English. Further analysis revealed that the priming effect for English /s/-aspirated forms was attenuated in Barranquilla listeners with greater English proficiency. These results show that second language listeners transfer abstract native language dialect knowledge to L2 input even when this knowledge is not directly part of the L2 input, providing evidence for the transfer of abstract, socially-indexed knowledge to the processing of L2.