Vowel perception in multilingual speakers: ERP evidence from Polish, English and Norwegian

Hanna Kędzierska; Karolina Rataj; Anna Balas; Zuzanna Cal; Chloe Castle; Magdalena Wrembel

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1270743

Vowel perception in multilingual speakers: ERP evidence from Polish, English and Norwegian

Front Psychol. 2023 Oct 12:14:1270743. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1270743. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hanna Kędzierska^{1

2}, Karolina Rataj³, Anna Balas¹, Zuzanna Cal¹, Chloe Castle⁴, Magdalena Wrembel¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Contemporary English Language, Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.
² Department of English and Comparative Linguistics, Institute of English Studies, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland.
³ Neuroscience of Language Laboratory, Department of Psycholinguistic Studies, Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.
⁴ Department of Language and Culture, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.

Abstract

Introduction: Research on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) in monolingual and bilingual speakers has shown significant differences in L1 versus L2 phonemic perception. In this study, we examined whether the MMN response is sensitive to the differences between L1, L2 and L3/Ln.

Methods: We compared bioelectrical brain activity in response to changes in pairs of vowels produced in three different languages. Specifically, multilingual participants listened to selected vowel contrasts in their L1 Polish, L2 English and L3/Ln Norwegian presented within the passive-oddball paradigm.

Results: Results revealed that the MMN was modulated by language: we observed significant differences between L2 English and L3/Ln Norwegian as well as between L1 Polish and L3/Ln Norwegian. For L3/Ln Norwegian, the MMN response had a lower amplitude when compared with L2 English and L1 Polish.

Discussion: Such findings suggest that foreign language status (i.e., L2 vs. L3/Ln) modulates early auditory processing.

Keywords: event-related potentials (ERP); mismatch negativity (MMN); multilingualism; speech perception; third language (L3/Ln).

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research is supported by Norway funds/NCN project grant GRIEG-1 (UMO-2019/34/H/HS2/00495) ADIM “Across-domain investigations in multilingualism: Modeling L3 acquisition in diverse settings”.