A complex approach on integrated late bilinguals’ English VOT production: a study on south Brazilian immigrants in London

Abstract: Adopting a Complex perspective to language, this study explores the correlation between length of residence (LOR) in London and the production of word-initial English voiceless stops by late south Brazilian bilinguals who have an integrative motivation towards the host language and culture. To this end, 12 immigrants are compared to 10 standard southern British English monolinguals. Acoustic analysis of VOT duration is reported. Results demonstrated that immigrants’ VOT values for English are positively correlated with LOR. Bilinguals with the longest LOR revealed a production of E...