Foreign Accent

Even though second-language learners may master the grammar and vocabulary of the new languages, they almost never achieve a native phonology (accent). Scholars and professionals dealing with second-language learners would agree that this is one of the most persistent challenges they face. Now, for the first time, Roy Major's Foreign Accent covers the exploding scholarship in this area and lays out the issues specifically for audiences in the second language acquisition and applied linguistics community.

Roy C. Major is Professor of English at Arizona State University.

Contents: Preface. Preliminaries to Research in Second Language Phonology. Linguistic Explanations for Second Language Phonological Systems. Variation. The Ontogeny Phylogeny Model of Language Acquisition and Change. The Ontogeny Phylogeny Model in Language Contact and Change. Conclusion.