Perception and production of Italian L2 sounds

This work aims at verifying the identification and categorization of Italian L2 phonological and phonetic oppositions by Galician subjects. The perceptual and production behavior of students is tested at different levels of Italian L2 knowledge and competence.The oppositions examined deal both with vowels (final unstressed /e – i /, /o – u/, an opposition that in Galician language is reduced to /e – o/) and consonants (/b – v/, , both absent in Galician) and they are studied into words produced in phrasal contexts by native Italian speakers (from northern and central Italian varieties). Both real and nonsense words are used. Firstly, two perceptual identification tests are presented to the subjects, one containing the vowel oppositions, the other the consonant ones. Time responses are also evaluated. Afterwards, students are asked to read and produce the same phrases pronounced by native speakers. Recordings also include some minutes of spontaneous speech in Italian. The acoustic data are selected for measurements and comparisons between native and non native speakers realizations of the same oppositions (by Praat) and they will be part of an Italian L2 corpus.As far as vowel oppositions are concerned, it is predicted and to verify that the subjects are not always able to identify words containing sounds in non native contexts, while they should be able to produce them by reading, less in spontaneous speech. The consonant oppositions are perceptually easier to identify, but almost often difficult to produce. Data should vary according to linguistic competence and use of Galician/Castellan varieties as a first language.