Language is a fundamental aspect of our social lives that determine how well we associated with other people. Phonology refers to the study of how sounds are perceived, understood, and propagated in languages. Each language exhibits a unique configuration of sounds that are combined to propagate messages. Every language spoken on earth can be evaluated with respect to specific analytic factors common to each one of them as phonetics, morphology, syntax, as well as pragmatics. These factors highlight an acute distinction between how different languages are perceived and the effects they have on individuals. Phonology takes particular interest into the unique sound patterns exhibited by different languages. In this context, phonology is classified into various models through which language and sound patterns can be studied comprehensively. It is important to understand the difference between first language and second language.
First language is basically, a person’s mother tongue, the language that an individual learns from birth. In this context, it is paramount to distinguish first language from native or ethnic languages. When a child is growing up from the time of birth, the baby is exposed to the language from which the baby develops. Throughout the initial development stages of the baby, he/she learns to speak and communicate in this language owing to the exposure. Second language, on the other hand, refers to the language(s) learnt after the first language. These can be one or more depending on the individual’s exposure and learning habits with respect to other languages. Phonology offers distinctive analysis between these sets of languages, their perception, performance, and effects they have on the first language (Yavaş, 2006). There are structural factors that are influential in shaping the phonological productions of second language learners.
Fundamentally, these aspects can be contrastive phonological information between the first and second languages, divergent forms of phonemic contrasts, markedness and universals as well as the predictions of Ontogeny and Phylogeny model. The study of language flows from different specialized levels starting from phonology. It is necessary to evaluate how these factors influence the phonological productions of second language learners. It is obvious that the second language learners experience different types of challenges in their quest to study the language. The unique and diversity in different languages further complicate the challenges. For instance, there are factors like pronunciation, mastering different meanings of the same words and development of grammar can sometimes be a challenge. However, there are factors that have different impacts on the learning process. Additionally, every individual learning a second language has to have a base language as the first language.
It is a normal experience of having conflicting aspects between the two languages. In this context, the first language has its impacts on the learning process. Additionally, individuals who have fully learnt second languages will most probably note the influence it has on the first language. It is, therefore, important to note only establish a relationship between these languages but also the psychosocial concept behind the conflict. This relationship can be described with respect to two structural factors; transfer and interference (Yavaş, 2006). Transfer refers to the use of structural aspects of the first language into the second language. On the other hand, interference refers to aspects of the first language interfering with the perception of the second language.
These aspects influence the performance of the second language learner. As a matter of fact, the extent to which these aspects are experienced in the learning process determines the quality and speed of learning. It is a logical fact that different people are affected to different degrees in their perception of second languages. It can be then said that this particular aspect of second language phonology is dynamic. However, the comparative aspects of the first and second languages are very important in establishing these structural concepts. Theories from studies in Phonology have proposed that the influence of the first language on the process of learning a second language are to a large extent, dependent on the qualities of the second language (Yavaş, 2006). Additionally, depending on the phonological structure of the second language, a language can be hard or easy to the learner.
Language is learnt by adoption; the learner adopts phonological characteristics of various aspects of the language and uses them to communicate. Given that the methodology employed in learning the first language is the same used in learning a second language, the learner is bound to transfer simple aspects of the first language into the learning process. This has an impact on the learning process and perception of the second language. The psychosocial explanation of this situation would be the fact that language is embedded in an individual’s mind. The frequency of use in language and the experience one develops as a result of using the first language for a very long time makes it the first to impact the second language. It is normal psychological behavior and characteristics of humans to use their already established skills to overcome any challenge that comes their way.
In this context, an individual will analyze the challenge presented and evaluate the potential solutions or alternative ways of solving the problem before seeking a new approach. This explains why the second language learner in most cases thinks in the first language and translates into the second language. The second language is viewed as a challenge and aspects of phonology and sound patterns from the first language regarded as the potential solution. On the other hand, the frequent use of the first language will most likely orient the individual with phonological aspects of the first language. As a result of this orientation, the second language learner will find it easier to involve aspects of the first language in the learning process. This is termed as interference. Psychologically, the mind will pick the easiest approach of accomplishing any social task. This is why the learner will find the first language constantly interfering with speech in the learning process of the second language.
Phoneme can be described as the smallest sound unit of a language used to distinguish utterances in a language. Phonemic contrasts are fundamental tools in evaluating the relationship between first and second languages, as well as the learning process. Phonemes break down the language classification process further into more realistic contrasts. As much as the sound patterns in certain aspects of language might seem similar, there are specific aspects of utterance that form a distinction between the two languages. This forms the concept of phonemic contrast in languages. This structurally shapes the phonological perceptions of second language learners in various fronts (Yavaş, 2006). Fundamentally, these phonemes are units that represent sounds in languages. Therefore, it is important to understand the difference between phonemes and sounds.
In a contrasting context between two languages, the sounds might exhibit perfectly similar characteristics and the phonemes are used to make a distinction between the two languages using the same word or aspect of language that shares a common sound. For instance, considering Spanish-English learners will have problems in learning new phonemes that are not there in English. Examples of such phonemes are /v, ϴ, δ, ʃ, ʒ, ʤ, ɳ/. Such a learner will spend more time having to master newer concepts that are not present in the first language. Additionally, with respect to interference, the learner will have to apply contrasting principles from the first language in areas that need newer phonemes. Furthermore, phonemic violations are bound to occur in contrasting sets as shown in closest sounds. This is shown by Spanish-English learners, for instance, in the pronunciation of the word bowel in contrast to vowel.
Phonotactics also known as sequential patterning in which syllable structures are formed. There exists different syllable structure for each word. A learner will have problems in word formation with respect to syllable structure as a result of contrasting syllable strategies. For instance, English has triple onsets and triple codas structures contrary to Spanish which has limitations in such contexts. However, there are also phonemic contrasts that advantage the learning process of the second language. Some languages have numerous alternatives with respect to a specific aspect of the language. For instance Spanish has numerous diphthongs more than English. Therefore, a learner taking Spanish as the second language will have a variety of alternatives to choose from with respect to such aspects which positively influences the learning process.
Phonemic contrasts are very influential in creating a distinction between language hence propagating new principles of a different language. The second language learner is able to identify the differences between the first language and the second through phonemic contrasts. Given that sounds are dynamic there are specific sounds that will have the same phonologic pattern in utterance, if language is to be learnt on the context of sound only, it will be much harder for the individual to learn the second language. Also, it is a common characteristic that the same sound might mean different things in the two languages; therefore it is logical for the learner to adopt the meaning exhibited by the first language, a factor that jeopardizes the learning process of the second language.
Markedness refers to the characteristic difficulty exhibited by a certain aspect with respect to a common comparative aspect. This attribute can be used to describe second language with respect to the first language. Psychosocial studies highlight that the first language due to its common nature will always be perceived as easy in comparison to the second language. With respect to contrasting attributes of languages, the development of markedness theories and universal markedness theories have been influential in making meaningful distinctions between the languages. Structurally, the existence of these concepts have been influential in helping second language learners understand fundamental concepts of new grammar in new languages. It is important to note that both the markedness and universal theories produce different clearances with respect to analysis and perception of language.
A second language learner will find distinguishing concepts and theories very helpful in learning the new language. The difficulty and challenges the attributes of the new language pose to the learner are simplified by these theories. However, the effect of these theories is to a larger extent dependent on how much they can be applied to the language in question. The perception of the second language learner is shaped by the difference between the second language and the first language, therefore, a language that has very similar concepts and contrasting factors with the second language will make it easier for the learner to develop an understanding and mastery of the fundamental aspects of the language. On the other hand, a second language that is very different in both aspect and perception with the first language will be more challenging for the learner. In this context, the learner will have to adopt new concepts that most probably will contradict the aspects of the first language.
There is second language sound perception models used in the analysis of learning second languages. Ontogeny refers to aspects of development that an individual goes through when growing. Language is one of the aspects of growth and development that an individual develops. In this context, learning language or its development can be evaluated with respect cognitive neuroscience and psychological aspects of an individual’s development. On the other hand, phylogeny refers to a description of the evolution process of a certain species with respect to cultural and social attributes like language. Ontogeny Phylogeny Model is one of the models used in the analysis of these perceptions (Roy, 2001).
Fundamentally, the model tables a concept in the formation phonological systems in the second language by a learner. It highlights the fundamental principles of perception into the new language through the development of unique phonological systems. Additionally, the model describes the changes on the first language that come as a result of adoption of new concepts from the second language. As mentioned earlier, learning new language will most probably have divergent impacts on the individual’s perception of the first language. This particular model takes into account the influence of this learning process on the background language. Furthermore, the model highlights language concepts in bilingual and multilingual individuals.
The advantages of using the Ontogeny Phylogeny Model are the fact that it can be used to explain any speech perception situation from a wide range of concepts and timelines (Roy, 2001). Language is dynamic, therefore it is expected that the current studies present newer theories of explaining the perception of a second language. However, the concepts and principles of this theory are flexible enough to be relied on by contemporary language perception theories. Therefore, it can comfortably form a basis of analysis for any second language learner. In this context, the model adopts a larger framework in evaluating even the smallest of aspects in linguistics. The advantage of this aspect is that the model can be applied in a wide range of speech perception situations. As a result of this approach, the model does not give a comprehensive definition of language or universal perceptions of any particular language.
Fundamentally, Ontogeny Phylogeny Model suggests that language acquisition is shaped by a variety of universals. This can be explained by lowest level of language perception, for instance, a child trying to learn language. The principles that determine the potential of the child in learning the language are the potential to learn, markedness, stylistic universals, constraints, rules and other processes (Roy, 2001). The model evaluates the second language learner with respect to these factors. Therefore, the structural influence this model has on the learner’s perception of the language can be established with respect to these factors. The model explains the diversity in learning conditions and rates through the learning environment created by these universals. For instance, the constraints a learner will experience in the process of learning the second language will vary from one learning environment to the other.
Conclusively, there are numerous aspects that determine the learning potential of a second language learner. The analysis of these factors describes the learning environment despite the personal attributes that an individual has. With respect to the aspects discussed above, there are more factors that determine the learner’s perception of the second language. For instance, the Ontogeny Phylogeny Model gives a general description of the learning environment and the diversity language perception exhibits. It is normal for learners to exhibit challenges in the process of language perception; however, their potential in overcoming these challenges depends on their ability to perform better in the aspects described above. For example, the possibility of individual distinguishing different sets of similar sounds through phonemic contrasts influences his/her ability in learning the new language.
References
Roy, C. M. (2001). Foreign Accent: The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Yavaş, M. (2006). Structural Factors in Second Language Phonology. Applied English Phonology, Second Edition , 183-229.
