Hansen's monograph concerns the phonological development of two Vietnamese adults acquiring English as a second language (L2). Data collection began 1 year after the couple's immigration to the United States and continued for a period of 1 year. The focus was on the developmental sequences involved in the acquisition of English syllable-initial and syllable-final consonant singletons and clusters, which are challenges to many L2 learners. In Vietnamese, syllable-final phones are limited to plosives, nasals, and semivowels; there are no consonant clusters.
This volume is divided into eight chapters. An introductory chapter is followed by a brief review of linguistic factors that influence L2 phonological acquisition, such as first language (L1) transfer and markedness, and social factors such as gender, social identity, and L2 use. Chapters 3–5 present an overview of English and Vietnamese phonology, details of the participants in the study, data collection methods and analyses, and the results of phonological analyses as well as their interpretation in light of various linguistic factors. In chapter 6, Hansen turns to a description of the participants' social contexts of language use and the effects on their language development. Chapter 7 provides a discussion of the learners' stages of acquisition, including the interaction of social and linguistic constraints. The final chapter summarizes the findings of the study and suggests directions for future research, including projects of longer duration, learners of other language backgrounds, and other targets of phonological interest.
Data collection in this study involved recorded interviews, participants' language use journals, and observations of family interactions. Phonological data were gathered at 3-month intervals, primarily from interviews dealing with the participants' social contexts of language use, and were supplemented with data from read speech (a reading passage and word list) to investigate task variation and to elicit specific structures. These tasks generated over 15,000 tokens for analysis.
Hansen suggests that the findings represent complex interactions of several factors among three levels of constraints. The primary linguistic constraints that affect acquisition and developmental sequences include (a) the influence of L1 phonotactics on early L2 production accuracy of syllable onsets and codas and (b) developmental and markedness effects, demonstrating greater production accuracy for syllable onsets versus codas, front versus back consonants, and voiceless consonants before their voiced counterparts. Secondary linguistic constraints that affect production include (a) constraints from the phonetic environment and syllable stress and (b) task type, resulting in overall greater accuracy for the reading data compared to the interview data. Additionally, the extent and duration of L1 transfer effects and social constraints were considered to affect the rate of development. These included social identity as well as perceived degree of acculturation and investment (e.g., Peirce, 1995) in L2 interactions as sources of input and opportunities for meaningful language use for subsequent linguistic development.
Although this study was limited to two individuals, the extended period of data collection allowed a greater emphasis on the process of acquisition, not solely on the product. It contributes to a scant body of L2 literature that involves longitudinal research (Ortega & Iberri-Shea, 2005). The study is also unique in its integration of the linguistic and social perspectives of L2 phonological development in context. Valuable appendixes include the English reading passage and word list used to elicit some of the production data, the detailed initial questionnaire administered in the form of an interview, sample interview questions, and an outline of the participants' log to record the amounts and functions of daily language use. This volume will be of interest to researchers in the fields of L2 phonology and sociolinguistics as well as to current and future teachers of English as a L2.
