This subchapter presents research results and other reports referring to the English pronunciation of Polish learners with respect to the issues listed above. The empirical study that follows is to verify previous results and establish the scale of timing problems by showing actual differences between native English speakers and Polish learners. Finally, the longitudinal aspect of the research presents conclusions concerning the rate of development of the learners’ English speech by indicating the scale of reduction of the discrepancies.
3.4 Polish learners’ timing problems 53
3.4.1 Long and short vowels
Szpyra-Kozłowska (2003: 200—201) remarks that the preservation of vowel length contrasts is difficult for Polish learners, “whose native tongue makes neither phonemic nor allophonic use of vowel quantity.” A similar observation is made by other researchers as well (e.g. Sobkowiak 1996, Nowacka 2008, Bryła 2010).
Vocalic duration cues for fortis/lenis distinction of the following consonants are even more problematic for Polish learners (Sobkowiak 1996, Szpyra-Kozłowska 2003). Production studies based both on acoustic data (Waniek-Klimczak 2005), and auditory assessment (Nowacka 2008) have shown that learners have poor abilities to make the relevant distinctions in this respect.
Performance problems are certainly aggravated if the significant contrasts are not efficiently perceived by the learners. Slowiaczek and Szymanska (1989) found 55% of identification errors related to underlying voicing in coda obstruents. Rojczyk (2010c) also observed Polish learners’ insensitivity to this cue. Furthermore, Rojczyk (2010a) demonstrated a conspicuous difference in this aspect of perception between English and Polish speakers.
An earlier study of English vowel recognition in monosyllables (Porzuczek 1998) suggested that Polish learners are quite sensitive to categorical vowel duration contrasts, but they tend to misinterpret the cues far more often if those for intrinsic vowel length and postvocalic voicing are contradictory, i.e. long vowels preceding fortis consonants or short vowels preceding lenis consonants.
3.4.2 Unstressed vowel and syllable reduction
Numerous publications (e.g. Sobkowiak 2001, Hewings 2004, Dziubalska-Kołaczyk et al. 2006, Nowacka 2008) point out Polish learners’
insufficient syllable reduction in unstressed positions. Reduction is inadequate considering both vowel quality (e.g. Avery and Ehrlich 1996, Gonet et al. 2010) and quantity (e.g. Porzuczek 2007, 2010a, 2010b). Luke and Richards (1982), Sobkowiak (2001), Hewings (2004), and Gonet et al. (2010) observe the strong influence of spelling on the foreign learner’s pronunciation of English vowels which are supposed to be reduced. This is unambiguously assigned to L1 interference.
Gonet et al.’s (2010) longitudinal study has estimated that only around 31%
of schwas are pronounced correctly by first-year Polish students of English, who later manage to improve enough to realise 67% of their schwas in an acceptable manner. Additionally, the authors observe more correct responses in medial positions, where English unstressed vowels often disappear
altogether. Word-initial and word-final positions have proved to be more difficult.
Vowel reduction is often constrained due to another reason unrelated to the vocalic segment alone. In many cases Polish learners may fail to reduce a vowel because this yields a long consonant cluster, breaking even the lenient phonotactic principles of Polish, as in “vegetables,” where radical vowel reduction would make the pronunciation of consecutive consonants /d½-t-b-l-z/
uncomfortable for native Polish speakers, even with open transitions. Moreover, the frequency of closed transitions is higher in English, even though Polish clusters are phonologically more complex. For instance, nasal plosion and lack of plosion are restricted to homorganic clusters in Polish, while in English the processes occur regardless of the places of articulation of the stops involved.
Finally, standard Polish does not allow syllabic consonants, although they can appear in rapid speech (cf. Rubach 1974, Biedrzycki 1978) or in the Upper Silesian dialect of Polish. This fact may constitute a serious obstacle to Polish learner’s unstressed syllable reduction.
3.4.3 Accentual lengthening
Although more attention is focussed on the Polish learner’s problems with vowel reduction, it is generally understood that reduction and accentual lengthening are interrelated to convey the contrast between prominent and non-prominent utterance constituents. Avery and Ehrlich (1996: 145) remark that Polish learners “should be given activities that practice reduction of unstressed syllables and lengthening of stressed ones.”
3.4.4 Stress timing
Natural English stress-timing has been regarded (most often on the basis of subjective impressions) as a serious problem that Polish learners face (e.g. Śpiewak and Gołębiowska 2001). The unresolved question of Polish being either syllable- or stress-timed is irrelevant here if we assume that the main problem in stress-timing acquisition is vowel length adjustment (cf. White and Mattys 2007a, Waniek-Klimczak 2009). Then the rhythm depends on the efficiency of accentual lengthening and unstressed vowel reduction.
However, since timing does not only depend on vowel length but also on the length of consonants, their relative duration must be taken into account as well. There are two potential problems connected with consonant duration.
Firstly, the duration of individual consonants may vary between native speakers
3.4 Polish learners’ timing problems 55
and foreign learners. Aspiration is probably the most important consonantal3 factor affecting general timing relations (see Waniek-Klimczak 2005 and Rojczyk 2010c for production and perception of VOT by Polish learners of English). Secondly, stress-timed languages use consonant clusters, which may constitute an obstacle to speakers of languages based on the CV syllable model. This is because, unaccustomed to coarticulation and closed transitions, they may need more time to move from one consonant to another. In extreme cases, speakers of Spanish, Italian or Japanese may use epenthesis in order to facilitate such transitions. Polish learners generally have no articulatory problems with English consonant clusters, which are never more complex than those in their mother tongue.