The second language learning process involves acquisition of sounds that differ to varying degrees from the sounds of a learner’s native language. Learners’ productions are strongly influenced by their native language particularly for sounds which are similar but non-identical in the two languages. However, foreign accent is typically investigated at the level of utterances and as a consequence the segmental basis of foreign accent and its role in communication remain unclear. The principal issues addressed by the current study are whether accentedness at the segmental level is judged categorically by native listeners, and whether consonantal and vocalic segments are treated similarly. British English listeners judged as native or non-native a series of words in which a single vowel or consonant had been replaced by its Spanish-accented counterpart. The degree of segment accent was varied in equal amounts along a 21-step continuum using a blending technique based on native and non-native segments excised from words spoken by a balanced bilingual talker. Listeners assessed 24 distinct consonant and vowel continua. Averaged across all vowel or consonant continua, listeners’ nativeness judgements varied with segment nativeness in a non-categorical fashion. However, most individual consonant continua, as well as those vowel continua that involved durational changes, were perceived categorically. These results suggest that while overall segment-level foreign accent might be considered to vary in degree, in reality at the level of individual segments –where second language learners’ pronunciation awareness and control has to be focussed– small acoustic changes can convey a foreign accent.

第二语言学习过程涉及获取与学习者的母语声音不同程度不同的声音。学习者的作品受到母语的强烈影响，特别是对于两种语言中相似但不相同的声音。但是，外国口音通常是在话语层面上进行调查的，因此，外国口音的细分基础及其在交流中的作用仍然不清楚。当前研究所解决的主要问题是，是否由本地听众对片段级别的重音进行分类判断，以及对辅音和声乐片段的处理方式是否相似。英国英语的听众认为一系列单词是母语的还是非母语的，其中单个元音或辅音已被其带有西班牙语的口音代替。使用基于从平衡的双语说话者说出的单词中切出的本机和非本机片段的混合技术，沿着21步连续体以相等的量改变片段的重音度。听众评估了24个不同的辅音和元音连续性。在所有元音或辅音连续体中取平均值，听众的本地性判断会以非分类方式随段本地性而变化。但是，大多数个人辅音连续体以及涉及持续变化的元音连续体都是被分类感知的。这些结果表明，虽然整个细分市场级别的外国口音可能会被认为程度有所不同，