The Acquisition of English Intonation by Native Greek Speakers

Abstract

This study examined the production of English intonation by Greek second-language (L2) learners of English, specifically their production of polar questions and their pitch range in English. Productions of (a) comparable materials in Greek spoken by the same Greek speakers and (b) English materials spoken by native English speakers were used to assess phonological and phonetic native language (L1) transfer when learning an L2. The results showed that Greek speakers used their L1 (Greek) intonation in English polar questions. Greek speakers' pitch span in English was narrower from both their L1 (Greek) and from the target (English) pitch span.