The interaction of micro- and macro-rhythm measures in English and Japanese as first and second languages

Abstract

L2 rhythm has often been measured as the duration variation of vowel and consonant intervals using Varco and PVI measures (micro-rhythm). In the present study, in addition to micro-rhythm, we examined macro-rhythm (i.e., the duration variation of intervals between F0 events), and vowel duration in relation to three phonological patterns (i.e., content vs. function words, stressed and unstressed vowels, and final sentence lengthening) in a series of attempts by two Japanese students of English to imitate approximately 2-minute segments of English TED talks. In general, both participants obtained native-like Varco and nPVI scores for vowels and consonants in their last imitation attempt. In contrast, only one of the participants related the variation of vowel duration to stress. The same participant obtained macro-rhythm scores closer to those of the English TED talk. A debriefing interview indicated that neither participant showed conscious awareness of their changes in macro-rhythm. These results suggest that Japanese speakers may need to learn stress and micro-rhythm patterns before implementing macro-rhythm, and that the often-used micro-rhythm measures of rhythm need to be complemented with both macro-rhythm measures and phonological patterns’ measures in order to capture L2 rhythmic patterns more accurately. Pedagogically, imitation seems to work for some learners to learn macro-rhythm patterns.