Testing PAM and SLM : perception of American English approximants by native German listeners

![CDATA[This study examined the impact of phonetic and phonological properties of L1 German (GE) on the perception of the American English (AE) approximant contrasts /r/-/l/, /w/-/r/, and /w/-/j/. GE does not have /w/, it realizes /r/ and /l/ differently from AE, and GE and AE /j/ are realized nearly identically. Thus, German lacks /w/-/j/ and /w/-/r/, but employs /r/-/l/ with a “light” [l] (as opposed to AE “dark” [ɫ]) and a uvular fricative [ʁ] (as opposed to AE “retroflex” [ɻ]). Forced-choice identification and AXB discrimination of /Cɑk/ syllables revealed both phonological and phonetic influences on the perception of AE approximants. GE listeners’ identification of all contrasts was highly categorical, but discrimination was poorer than AE listeners’ for /w/-/r/ and /r/-/l/ and better than AE listeners’ for /w/-/j/. Phonologically-based predictions were correct only for one contrast, /r/-/l/. Neither Best’s Perceptual Assimilation Model nor Flege’s Speech Learning Model were fully successful in predicting how L1 GE listeners perceived AE approximants.]]