This study explored how the third language (L3) acquisition experience influences Mandarin trilinguals’ production and perception of English and Mandarin word-initial voiceless stops. Thirty-one Mandarin trilinguals, advanced in L3 Japanese, completed a production experiment where they produced English and Mandarin words containing the target stops. They also completed a perception experiment where they identified synthetic stimuli along English voiced-voiceless and Mandarin unaspirated-aspirated stop continua. Their phonetic performance was compared with that of Japanese bilinguals and Mandarin bilinguals. The results revealed profound phonetic interference from L3 Japanese to second language English, as the Mandarin trilinguals’ voice onset time values and category boundaries for English voiceless stops differed significantly from those of the Mandarin bilinguals, while aligning more closely with those of the Japanese bilinguals. Less prominent phonetic interference from L3 Japanese to native language Mandarin was observed, as the Mandarin trilinguals and bilinguals exhibited similar phonetic performance in Mandarin aspirated stops.
This study focuses on Mandarin trilinguals with advanced proficiency in third language (L3) Japanese, investigating their acquisition of Japanese word-initial voiceless stops and the relationship between their performance and their full-time equivalent (FTE) years of Japanese input. Thirty-one Mandarin trilinguals and 34 Japanese bilinguals completed a production experiment by producing Japanese words containing the target stops and a perception experiment by listening to Japanese stop continua with synthetic stimuli varying in VOT values. The results showed that the Mandarin trilinguals produced Japanese stops with significantly longer VOT values than the Japanese bilinguals and perceived Japanese stops with category boundaries occurring at significantly longer VOT values than the Japanese bilinguals. The performance of the Mandarin trilinguals revealed interference from the phonetic systems of both their native Mandarin and second language English. The correlation analysis between the Mandarin trilinguals' performance and their FTE indicated that longer FTE for trilinguals may not directly translate into target-like performance.
This study targets Mandarin trilinguals with advanced proficiency in L3 Japanese, exploring their production of L2 English word-initial voiceless stops. Thirty-one Mandarin trilinguals, 34 Japanese bilinguals, and 26 Mandarin bilinguals produced nine English words containing word-initial /p, t, k/. The VOT values of each stop were measured. Results showed that the Mandarin trilinguals produced the target stops with mean VOT values falling between those of the Japanese and Mandarin bilinguals. These results suggest that the Mandarin trilinguals' production of English stops were influenced by the phonetic systems of both L1 Mandarin and L3 Japanese.
This study explored the acquisition of Japanese word-initial voiceless stops by Mandarin trilinguals with advanced proficiency in their third language Japanese and the relationship between their full-time equivalent (FTE) years of Japanese input and their perception of these stops. Thirty-one Mandarin trilinguals and 34 Japanese bilinguals completed a perception experiment by listening to Japanese stop continua with synthetic stimuli varying in voice onset time (VOT) values. The results showed that the Mandarin trilinguals perceived Japanese stops with category boundaries occurring at longer VOT values than the Japanese bilinguals. The trilinguals' perception skills revealed phonetic interference from both their native Mandarin and second language English. The correlation analysis between the trilinguals' FTE and their mean category boundaries indicated that longer FTE for trilinguals may not directly translate into target-like performance.
