1. Think or Sink: Chinese Learners ’ Acquisition of English Voiceless Interdental Fricative D. Victoria Rau Hui-Huan Ann Chang

2. Interlanguage Variation & SLA Interlanguage (transfer, imposition) & vernacular SLA vs. Labovian sociolinguistics VARBRUL

3. Phonological variation of (th) in Chinese English (Rau 2004) The China study (Rau & Tarone 2004), 15 participants The Taiwan study (Chang 2004), 16 participants

4. Research questions What are the variable patterns of production of (th) by Chinese learners of English? How can the patterns be adequately accounted for from language use? Bybee ’ s usage model of phonology (2001) Trudgill ’ s linguistic and social typology (2004)

6. Hypotheses Accurate production of English theta by Chinese learners is predicted by the immediate phonetic environments and speech style. High token frequency containing the variable (th) correlates with high inaccurate production of (th), whereas high phonetic type frequency correlates with high accurate production of (th). An EFL community exhibits more allophonic variants than an ESL community.

7. Methodology Independent variables: two internal factor groups, one external factor group Dependent variable: accurate vs. inaccurate production of (th) Four tasks: word list reading, passage reading, retelling the story, interview Questionnaire on preferred substitutes for (th) 4386 token

8. Results and Discussion (1-1) Favorable environments: low front vowel (.60, thank) > mid/rhotacized vowel (.55, third) > high front vowel (.54, think, wealthy) > round vowel (.53, thought) > Unfavorable environments: low back vowel (.46, thunder) > high mid vowel after thr (.45, threaten) > back vowel after thr (.43, throw, through) > high front vowel after thr (.31, three) > diphthong (.19, thousand)

9. Results and Discussion (1-2) Favorable environments: high front vowel (.58, with, teeth) > low round vowel (.57, moth) > mid front vowel (.55, breath) > Unfavorable environments: low front vowel (.49, math) > high round vowel (.46, youth, truth) > diphthong (.45, mouth) > mid/rhotacized vowel (.38, earth)

10. Results and Discussion (1-3) word list (.63) > passage reading (.54) > Informal speech style (story retelling and conversation) (.38)

11. Bybee ’ s usage model of phonology Inaccurate production of (th) is only slightly correlated with high-frequency items (Spearman's rho = -.492, p <.01). There is a high correlation between the order of type frequency containing (th) and accurate production of (th) (Kendall's W = -.733, p <.05). Many reductive sound changes affect high-frequency items first. Type frequency defined by phonetic features will be more resistant to change because their frequency gives them a high level of lexical strength.

14. Trudgill ’ s linguistic and social typology [s] > [sh] > [t] > [f] The China group: [s], [t], and [sh] The Taiwan group: [s], [z], [sh], [f], [d], [t], glottal stop, zero EFL environments exhibit more allophonic complexity than ESL environments

16. Conclusion The privilege of front vowels over other phonetic environments in promoting accurate production of (th) by Chinese speakers of English. This pattern reflected a correlation between type frequencies and accurate production of (th), lending support to Bybee ’ s Usage model of phonology. The Taiwan group in an EFL environment sustains more allophonic complexity for (th) than the China group in an ESL environment, a case in support of Trudgill ’ s hypothesized relationships between societal type and core aspects of linguistic structure.