Modelling the acquisition of the Portuguese tap by L1-Mandarin learners: A BiPhon-HG account for individual differences, syllable-position effects and orthographic influences in L2 speech

The present study provides a formal account for three types of experimental findings recurrently reported in the literature, yet not explicitly formalised in current L2 speech theories, namely individual variability, syllable-position effects and orthographic influences. By analysing examples from L2 acquisition of Portuguese, we show that all these L2 speech patterns can be formalised within a single generative linguistic model, the Harmonic-Grammar version of the Bidirectional Phonology and Phonetics Model, which was originally proposed for L1 speech perception and production. Without resorting to any mechanism specific to L2 acquisition, our formal modelling suggests that L2 speech data can be addressed in a broader context, benefiting from well-developed formal phonological theories.