Phonetic convergence in spontaneous conversations as a function of interlocutor language distance

Area of Science:

• Phonetics
• Sociolinguistics
• Psycholinguistics

Background:

• Phonetic convergence, the alignment of speech patterns between interlocutors, is a key aspect of social interaction.
• The influence of language distance on phonetic convergence remains an area of active research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between phonetic convergence and varying degrees of language distance among speakers.
• To examine how dialectal and first language (L1) differences affect speech alignment in conversations.

Main Methods:

• Conversational speech samples were collected from pairs of native English speakers (same/different dialects), native Korean speakers (same/different dialects), and native/nonnative English speakers.
• An independent listener group performed XAB perception tests to rate the similarity of early and late utterance samples from each talker pair.
• Phonetic convergence was quantified by measuring the perceptual similarity of speech across conversation segments.

Main Results:

• Greater phonetic convergence was observed in same-dialect pairs compared to different-dialect or different-L1 pairs.
• The findings support the hypothesis linking phonetic convergence with interlocutor language distance.
• Speech similarity varied significantly based on the linguistic background of the conversational partners.

Conclusions:

• Phonetic convergence is modulated by the degree of language distance between interlocutors.
• Two mechanisms, intelligibility needs and nonnative speech processing demands, likely mediate phonetic convergence dynamically.
• Understanding these mechanisms provides insight into the social and cognitive factors shaping spoken language interaction.