Prosodic accuracy and foreign accent in cultural migrants

The present study examines the relationship between language learning motivation and prosodic accuracy in L2 Italian speakers. 4 Romanians and 4 Arabs are selected among cultural migrants living in Italy. Each L1 group includes learners with moderate and high motivational indexes, 2 inexperienced and 2 experienced speakers (indexed by length of residence). Non-native subjects’ prosodic accuracy is assessed on 4 declarative sentences in Italian, through acoustic measurements and a perception test. The same sentences are produced by 4 native Italians, acting as a control group. Preliminary results suggest a possible correlation among prosodic accuracy, motivation indexes and LOR levels.