Nasal coarticulation patterns remain L1-dominated in intermediate L2-Spanish: Aerodynamic evidence

This study examines gestural timing patterns of nasalization in late learners of Spanish as a second language (L2) whose first language (L1) is English, a language in which vowels tend to have an earlier onset of nasalization and be more nasalized than in Spanish. Previous research has shown that advanced and heritage bilinguals can adjust coarticulatory strategies cross-linguistically, yet much less is known about learners with lower proficiency. Sixteen participants read aloud CVN words in Spanish and English while simultaneous oral and nasal airflow data were collected from the vocalic segment using pressure transducers and a vented mask. Two analyses were conducted: (1) to assess nasalization onset timing, 40 equidistant data points per vowel were analyzed (totaling 32,800 measurements); (2) to evaluate overall degree of nasalization, nasal airflow proportions relative to total airflow were analyzed (totaling 820 measurements). Results suggest that intermediate Spanish learners exhibit a somewhat delayed nasalization onset in L2 Spanish compared to English, yet substantial interspeaker variability was found. Furthermore, although overall nasal airflow magnitude across time and degree of nasalization were similar between L1 English and L2 Spanish, the nasal airflow contours appeared to show differences only towards the end of the vowel, resembling L1 Spanish patterns. These findings indicate partial acquisition, and suggest that coarticulatory adjustment is unlikely at lower proficiency levels, with learners relying on L1 strategies when producing L2 speech.