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Abstract

Th-substitutions by Dutch learners of English are studied to find out whether the frequency of a substitute in Dutch-accented English infl uences the perception of phoneme substitutions. This study investigates whether early processing of the preferred substitute [t] over [s] for Dutch listeners can be made visible in a mismatch negativity-paradigm (MMN). The English pseudowords [θond], [tond] and [sond] were presented to the listener while event-related potential (ERP) data were collected. If experience indeed influences the MMN, larger amplitudes are expected for [s]. On the other hand, if only acoustic similarity influences the MMN, larger amplitudes are expected for [t]. Analyses revealed significant deviance interaction for the oddball block, with [t] eliciting larger MMN amplitudes and shorter latencies than [s]. This favours an acoustic-similarity based account; however, upcoming results from an adapted version of the study and of the German listener group may reveal whether this provides the most probable interpretation.