Rhythm metrics and the production of English L1/L2

Abstract

This study investigates rhythmic parameters in the production of French learners in a dual perspective: (i) to analyse the influence of rhythm of the native language (L1=French) on the target language (L2=English) and, (ii) to provide prosodic evaluative criteria for French speakers' productions. The method used is a comparative analysis of French and native speakers' productions using different rhythm metrics. Based on the analyses of the ANGLISH corpus, the results show that it is possible to foresee the rhythmic tendencies and to distinguish between native and non-native speakers by a combination of rhythmic parameters. A discriminant analysis allows the classification of the speakers into three different levels of group.