Bidirectional vowel transfer in English (L1) learners of Spanish (L2)

Kyle Dunkle, ABD (Department of Spanish and Portuguese, OSU)

This dissertation is an experimental investigation of the malleability of speech sounds in the phonological system of adults who learn a second language. This malleability occurs as a result of two distinct phonological systems coming into contact with each other (i.e. the native system and the new language) during second language learning. Specifically, this project will examine bidirectional transfer (i.e. the influence of the first language on the second and second language on the first) on the vowel systems of native English-speaking adults learning Spanish.