Rachel Albar

Ancien doctorant

Status : PhD Student

Address :

LLF, CNRS – UMR 7110
Université Paris Diderot-Paris 7
Case 7031 – 5, rue Thomas Mann,
75205 Paris cedex 13

E-mail : enpury.nyone@havi-cnevf-qvqrebg.se

Thèse

Title : Production et perception des contours continuatifs français par des apprenants japonophones

Supervision :
  Hi-yon Yoo

PhD Defense : 2022-03-30

Inscription : 2016 à Paris Cité

Jury :

  • Hiyon YOO, MCF, Université Paris Cité, Directrice de thèse
  • Elisabeth DELAIS-ROUSSARIE, DR, Université de Nantes, Rapporteure
  • Claire PILLOT-LOISEAU, MCF HDR, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Rapporteure
  • Ingo FELDHAUSEN, PR, Université de Lorraine, Examinateur
  • Takeki KAMIYAMA, MCF, Université Paris 8, Examinateur
  • Philippe MARTIN, PR émérite, Université Paris Cité, Examinateur
  • Harim KWON, Associate professor, George Mason University, Membre invité

Abstract :

In French, prosodic boundaries are associated with a rise in F0 and a lengthening of the accented vowel, which vary to a greater or lesser extent depending on the strength of the boundary. For example, the end of a subject noun phrase is usually produced with one of these prosodic movements, named “continuation contours”. Certain rising contours also have a discursive function and indicate the continuity of speech. In Japanese, prosodic boundaries are not usually associated with a rise, even if some boundary pitch movements (BPM) can occur, especially in spontaneous speech. The goal of this thesis is to observe how Japanese learners of French perceive and produce these contours, and to examine to what extent their production is influenced by their L1. Our main results show that despite not being present in their L1, learners are quickly able to produce melodic rises in French. However, difficulties in distinguishing between prosodic boundaries and between the different levels of continuation that are associated with them remain, both in perception and in the production of prosodic cues (duration and F0). The use of these prosodic cues by the learners also differs depending on the type of task (reading task or semi-spontaneous speech) and we can also observe different strategies in the learners, independent from their proficiency level. Therefore, our results highlight the variability of the learners’ interlanguage. Learners’ strategies, while being strongly linked with their L1 (especially in their production of prosodic cues), are not entirely explained by a phenomenon of direct transfer.