It Is the Tone that Makes the Music: Dutch L2 English Speakers’ Perception of Correspondence between Intonation Patterns and Sentence Types in English Songs

Abstract

The present study investigates how Dutch L2 speakers of English perceive typical and atypical combinations between sentence type and intonation pattern in English songs, and additionally, how Dutch L2 students of English and Dutch-speaking singers differ in their perception of these typical and atypical combinations. According to previous research, the typical combinations would be questions displaying a final rise and statements displaying a final fall. Fifteen Dutch L2 students of English and fifteen Dutch-speaking singers were asked to respond to a number of short songs displaying these combinations in their lyrics and melody. These participants indicated their appreciation of these songs on a five-point scale. It was found that both the Dutch L2 students of English and the Dutch-speaking singers prefer falling statements over rising statements, but did not distinguish between rising and falling questions, in line with the variability in the intonation of questions in English. The findings indicate that all listeners seemed to judge the songs according to the English intonation system. The singers were not influenced by their musical background, as their responses resembled those of the Dutch L2 students of English.