Hesitation Phenomena as Sources of Perceptual Errors for Non-Native Speakers

Abstract

The object of the study is an analysis of the perceptual problems of non-native speakers of English. Of particular interest is the influence of the hesitation phenomena normal in spontaneous speech on the perception process. Twenty-two subjects were asked to (ortho-graphically) transcribe a stretch of spontaneous speech. These transcripts were analysed and compared with a standardized version. The results support the view that perception resembles a matching process between the listener's projection and the incoming acoustic information. No typical differences were found between the perception strategies of native speakers and non-native speakers. Hesitation phenomena were found to be important sources of perceptual problems for the non-native speakers.