Research Overview
My main linguistic research interests include acquisition of phonology, orthography, morphology, and lexicon in a second or additional language (L2+). I also maintain interests in historical Germanic linguistics, phonology and morphology of Modern German, and phonological analysis of some Chinese tone sandhi shifts. I am familiar with a variety of linguistics, applied linguistics, and language acquisition frameworks, including laboratory psycholinguistics, feature geometry, and Optimality Theory approaches to phonology, as well as socio-cultural and pedagogical approaches to L2 acquisition.
Depiction of Charles Hockett's description of the conceptual problem of speech communication.
(A Manual of Phonology, 1955, p. 210)
Image courtesy of Isabelle Darcy, Indiana University, Bloomington.
(A Manual of Phonology, 1955, p. 210)
Image courtesy of Isabelle Darcy, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Originally an offshoot of linguistics, second language acquisition (SLA) is still a young field. In particular, L2+ phonology is just coming into its own. As experimental methods are adopted from cognitive science, psychology, and speech and hearing sciences, quantitative SLA research is rapidly growing due to its new ability to test hypotheses with instruments sensitive enough to detect subtle effects. With my own research, I examine phonological development in L2+ acquisition and explore how phonological information is cognitively represented.
L2+ Sound Learning Lab
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My primary research area is in L2+ acquisition, which includes a variety of second language learning scenarios and countless more complex scenarios of additional language learning after L2 exposure, sometimes referred to as third language (L3) acquisition. As principal investigator of the L2+ Sound Learning Lab, I investigate adult language learning in instructed foreign language settings, which characterizes most secondary and post-secondary language learning.
Ultimately, this research finds motivation from the fundamental idea that teaching and training L2+ learners toward reliable perception, production, and alphabetic literacy in the target language has profound impacts on listening comprehension, lexical learning, speaking ability, learner confidence, and motivation to learn foreign languages. These are crucial factors for even the most talented learners, and even more so for the L2+ learners with some form of dyslexia (about 20% of people), dysgraphia (about 10-30% of people), or hearing loss (including 12.5% of people aged 6-19 years). |
Dissertation Research
I earned my Ph.D. from the Department of Second Language Studies at Indiana University in May 2019. My full dissertation is available via ProQuest for free (Open Access). Some portions are also available as peer-reviewed open access articles:
My dissertation research explored the acquisition of higher-order phonology in L2 (e.g., phonotactics, allophones). Although it is clear that first language (L1) speakers of any language typically acquire these patterns unconsciously, it is still unclear how or to what extent adult learners of foreign languages do so. These questions are relevant to linguistic theories of acquisition and may also inform what foreign language educators can or should (not) expect from their students when designing fair assessments of listening comprehension and pronunciation at various stages of development.
Many languages restrict the distribution of certain phonemes. In English, h [h] is only allowed at the beginning of stressed syllables as in hat and ng [ŋ] is only allowed at the end of syllables as in ring. Other languages may not restrict the same sounds in the same way. For example in Turkish, as with şah 'shah' or 'chess king', the final h is pronounced and is not unusual in the language. Similarly in Tagalog, the ng sound [ŋ] commonly appears at the beginning of words, as in nga 'really, actually, indeed.' Overcoming restrictions that apply in the first language in order to notice sounds in "new" places and then effectively learn and pronounce them may challenge many L2+ learners.
In other cases, different versions of certain speech sounds may appear in different places within a language. This is much like how Clark Kent and Superman are the same man, but Superman never shows up at the Daily Planet and Clark Kent never flies over Metropolis. Similarly in American English, different versions of the t sound appear in tub as opposed to butter and the p sound is a pronounced differently in American English pin vs. spin (and sometimes vs. snip as well.)
In order to explore the L2+ acquisition of such alternations in my dissertation, I employed two psycholinguistic laboratory methods that are not typically paired together: perceptual assimilation and phoneme detection. Using accuracy of detection and reaction time effects (measured in milliseconds) as a rubric for measuring acquisition of phonological rules, the study examines adult learners' perception of the so-called "deutsches ch," which appears in German as the ach-Laut [x]/[χ] in the word Buch 'book' but as the ich-Laut [ç] in the plural form Bücher 'books'. The study compares adult learners in their 1st and 2nd year of university-level coursework in German over the course of 2 semesters with naïve American English speakers (who do not know German) and L1 German speakers in order to paint a picture of the learners' path(s) of development with regard to these sounds in L2+ German.
- Scott (2019): Who follows the rules? Differential robustness of phonological principles. [PSLLT Proceedings]
- Scott & Darcy (2023): Prosodic location modulates listeners' perception of novel German sounds. [Laboratory Phonology]
- Scott (2025): Detargeting the target in phoneme detection: Aiming the task at phonological representations rather than backgrounds. [Frontiers in Language Sciences]
My dissertation research explored the acquisition of higher-order phonology in L2 (e.g., phonotactics, allophones). Although it is clear that first language (L1) speakers of any language typically acquire these patterns unconsciously, it is still unclear how or to what extent adult learners of foreign languages do so. These questions are relevant to linguistic theories of acquisition and may also inform what foreign language educators can or should (not) expect from their students when designing fair assessments of listening comprehension and pronunciation at various stages of development.
Many languages restrict the distribution of certain phonemes. In English, h [h] is only allowed at the beginning of stressed syllables as in hat and ng [ŋ] is only allowed at the end of syllables as in ring. Other languages may not restrict the same sounds in the same way. For example in Turkish, as with şah 'shah' or 'chess king', the final h is pronounced and is not unusual in the language. Similarly in Tagalog, the ng sound [ŋ] commonly appears at the beginning of words, as in nga 'really, actually, indeed.' Overcoming restrictions that apply in the first language in order to notice sounds in "new" places and then effectively learn and pronounce them may challenge many L2+ learners.
In other cases, different versions of certain speech sounds may appear in different places within a language. This is much like how Clark Kent and Superman are the same man, but Superman never shows up at the Daily Planet and Clark Kent never flies over Metropolis. Similarly in American English, different versions of the t sound appear in tub as opposed to butter and the p sound is a pronounced differently in American English pin vs. spin (and sometimes vs. snip as well.)
In order to explore the L2+ acquisition of such alternations in my dissertation, I employed two psycholinguistic laboratory methods that are not typically paired together: perceptual assimilation and phoneme detection. Using accuracy of detection and reaction time effects (measured in milliseconds) as a rubric for measuring acquisition of phonological rules, the study examines adult learners' perception of the so-called "deutsches ch," which appears in German as the ach-Laut [x]/[χ] in the word Buch 'book' but as the ich-Laut [ç] in the plural form Bücher 'books'. The study compares adult learners in their 1st and 2nd year of university-level coursework in German over the course of 2 semesters with naïve American English speakers (who do not know German) and L1 German speakers in order to paint a picture of the learners' path(s) of development with regard to these sounds in L2+ German.
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Research Articles
Refereed Articles
Scott, J. H. G. (accepted). Tongue-seizing, dream-gifting, and shape-shifting: Barrow-dweller powers for teaching Germanic philology and historical linguistics. Scott, J. H. G. (2025). Detargeting the target in phoneme detection: Aiming the task at phonological representations rather than backgrounds. Frontiers in Language Sciences, 3:1254956. doi: 10.3389/flang.2024.1254956 Scott, J. H. G., Phillips, S. E., Russell, C. B., Lim, R. Z. J., & Darcy, I. (2024). Hearing and writing German sounds: Influences of phonetic training on L2 perception and spelling. In H. A. A. AlThagafi & J. Ray (Eds.), Proceedings of the 48th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, ISBN 978-1-57473-097-5, Boston, MA, November 2024 (pp. 467–480). Boston, MA: Boston University. Cascadilla. Scott, J. H. G., & Darcy, I. (2023). Prosodic location modulates listeners’ perception of novel German sounds. Laboratory Phonology, 14(1). doi: 10.16995/labphon.6428 Scott, J. H. G., Lim, R. Z. J., & Russell, C. B. (2022). Sound-spelling correspondences in FL instruction: same script, different rules. In J. Levis & A. Guskaroska (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, St. Catharines, ON [virtual], June 2021. St. Catharines, ON: Brock University. doi:10.31274/psllt.13361 Scott, J. H. G. (2019). Who follows the rules? Differential robustness of phonological principles. In J. Levis, C. Nagle, & E. Todey (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference, ISSN 2380-9566, Ames, IA, September 2018 (pp. 213–225). Ames, IA: Iowa State University. [link] Darcy, I., Dekydtspotter , L., Sprouse, R. A., Glover, J., Kaden, C., McGuire, M., & Scott, J. H. G. (2012). Direct mapping of acoustics to phonology: On the lexical encoding of front rounded vowels in L1 English–L2 French acquisition. Second Language Research, 28, 5–40. doi: 10.1177/0267658311423455 Hall, T. A., & Scott, J. H. G. (2007). Inflectional paradigms have a base: Evidence from s-dissimilation in Southern German dialects. Morphology, 17, 151–178. doi: 10.1007/s11525-007-9112-z Other Publications Scott, J. H. G. (2001). German Particle-Complement Verbs in Modern Morphological and Syntactic Theory: Countering the ‘Separable-Prefix’ Misnomer. University of Washington Working Papers in Linguistics, 20, 99–117. |
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Book Reviews
Scott, J. H. G. (2014). Review of the book The Cambridge handbook of second language acquisition, by J. Herschensohn & M. Young-Scholten (Eds.). Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 36, 169–171. doi: 10.1017/S0272263113000673
Open Educational Resourcesas Series Editor with Roswita Dressler
Clark, A. & Chan, J. (2025). Hans im Wald! [Hans in the forest!] [eBook]. (M. Siggelkow, Ed.) University of Calgary. https://hdl.handle.net/1880/121834 Byrne, M. (2025). Die kleinen sommersprossigen Marienkäfer [The little freckled ladybugs] [eBook]. (M. Siggelkow, Ed.) University of Calgary. https://hdl.handle.net/1880/120973 White, P. (2025). Buttons geht zum Arzt [Buttons goes to the doctor] [eBook]. (M. Siggelkow, Ed.). University of Calgary. https://hdl.handle.net/1880/120918.2 Thompson, D., Burgel, A., Wilson, C. E., & Rode (2024). Ein Briefträger im Ausserweltraum [A letter carrier in outer space] [eBook] (M. Siggelkow, Ed.). University of Calgary. https://hdl.handle.net/1880/120754 |
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Academic Presentations
Invited Talks
Scott, J. H. G. (2023, July 8). Künstliche Sprachen und sprachliche Kunst: (Un)natürliche Grenzen zu Bruch [Artificial languages and linguistic art: (Un)natural boundaries broken down [Invited presentation]. Deutsche Sommerschule am Pazifik, Portland State University, Portland, OR. Scott, J. H. G. (2023, February 20). Constructed languages: Historical functions, aesthetic value, and cultural applications [Invited presentation]. Department of World Languages and Cultures, Portland State University, Portland OR. [slides] Scott, J. H. G., & Süßenbach, L. (2021, June 23). Perception, pronunciation, orthography and High-Variability Phonetic Training in foreign language [Webinar]. TESOL International Association: Speech, Pronunciation, and Listening Interest Section (SPLIS). [video link] Scott, J. H. G. (2015, June). Allophonic alternations and phonotactic constraints governing [ç], [x], and [h] for L2 learners of German. Paper presented at Lingulab Mini-Workshop (June 26), Tübingen, Germany. Scott, J. H. G. (2015, June). Allophonic and phonotactic distributions in L2 German: [ç] and [x] as a case of e pluribus unum for L1 American English speakers. Paper presented at Sonderforschungsbereich (SFB) 732 Project A4 Colloquium (June 25), Stuttgart, Germany. Scott, J. H. G. (2015, June). L2 acquisition of alternation and phonotactic constraints governing distribution of German [ç], [x], and [h] by L1 American English speakers. Paper presented at Sonderforschungsbereich (SFB) 732 Annual Retreat (June 19), Kleinwalsertal, Austria. Scott, J. H. G. (2015, May). Acquisition of alternation and phonotactic distribution constraints governing L2 German [ç] and [x] by L1 American English speakers. Paper presented at Sonderforschungsbereich (SFB) 732 Project A7 Colloquium (May 18), Stuttgart, Germany. Papers/Posters Presented Scott, J. H. G., & Dressler, R. (2025, May 2). Writing to be read: Authentic creative writing for language skills and motivation. 31st Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC 2025), Denton, TX. https://linguistics.unt.edu/glac2025.html Scott, J. H. G. (2025, April 11). (De)constructing culture through constructed languages: U-boots in space, Decolonizing our fantasies, and transgressing taboo on Naboo. 11th Language Creation Conference, College Park, MD. Dressler, R. & Scott, J. H. G. (2025, April 5). Negotiating Linguistic (In)security through Project Based Learning: The By Learners For Learners Project. Languages Without Borders, Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers, Montréal, QC. Scott, J. H. G. (2024, December 7). Plurikulturelle Perspektiven zu Papier gebracht und publiziert: Kinderbücher von Lernenden für Lernende [Pluricultural perspectives put to paper and published: Children’s books by learners for learners]. DACH-L Kultur im Sprachunterricht: Eine Fortbildung für Deutschlehrende [German-Austrian-Swiss-Liechtenstein culture in the language instruction: Continuing education for German teachers], American Association of Teachers of German Maryland-DC Chapter, College Park, MD. Scott, J. H. G., Phillips, S. E., Russell, C. B., Lim, R. Z. J., Darcy, I., & Süßenbach, L. (2023, November 4). Hearing and writing German sounds: Influences of phonetic training on L2 perception and spelling [Poster presentation]. 48th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD), Boston, MA. https://www.bu.edu/bucld/ Scott, J. H. G., Phillips, S. E., Lim, R. Z. J., Russell, C. B., Darcy, I., & Süßenbach, L. (2023, September 8). Phonetic training for novel category perception and orthographic learning: Relative gains of low- and high-variability for beginners of German [Paper presentation]. 14th Annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching (PSLLT) Conference, West Lafayette, IN. https://web.cvent.com/event/e0861a1b-556f-4a6c-8e1a-3f11196b6380/summary Scott, J. H. G., Phillips, S. E., Russel, C. B., Lim, R. Z. J., Darcy, I., & Süßenbach, L. (2023, 22 April). Effects of Low- and High-Variability Phonetic Training on Category Perception and Orthographic Awareness in Early L2 German [Paper presentation]. Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference 2023, Banff, AB, Canada. https://glac2023.ca/ Scott, J. H. G., Lim, R. Z. J., & Russell, C. B. (2021, June 18). Sound-spelling correspondences in FL instruction: Same script, different rules [Paper presentation]. 12th Annual Pronunciation and Second Language Learning and Teaching (PSLLT) Conference, St. Catharines, ON. https://brocku.ca/psllt-2021/ Scott, J. H. G., Russell, C. B., & Lim, R. Z. J. (2021, May 12). Sound and spelling in L2/L3 German: Same script, different rules [Paper presentation]. Twenty-Seventh Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-27), Madison, WI. https://glac2021.weebly.com/ Scott, J. H. G., & Darcy, I. (2020, July). German unassimilated coronal nasals cause reduced inhibition. Poster session presented at LabPhon17, Vancouver, BC, Canada. https://labphon.org/labphon17/detailed-programme Scott, J. H. G., & Darcy, I. (2020, April). Psycholinguistic evidence for underspecification: German Regressive Nasal Assimilation [Conference session]. Twenty-Sixth Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-26), Athens, GA. https://glac2020.weebly.com/ (Conference canceled) Scott, J. H. G., & Darcy, I. (2019, May). The Awfully Elusive German Language: In Search of a Property Theory of Mid and Back Continuants. Poster presented at the Twenty-Fifth Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-25), Iowa City, IA. [Abstract] [PDF Version] Scott, J. H. G. (2018, September). Who Follows the Rules? Differential Robustness of Phonological Principles. Paper presented at the 10th Annual Pronunciation and Second Language Learning and Teaching (PSLLT) Conference, Ames, IA. [PDF Version] Scott, J. H. G., & Darcy, I. (2018, May). Phonetic Category Revision in Early L2 German Dorsal Fricatives: From Naïve Listener to Beginning Learner. Paper presented at the Twenty-Fourth Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-24), State College, PA. [Abstract] [PDF Version] Scott, J. H. G. (2017, May). Jigsaw Surveys & Learning Logs: Using Qualtrics and Canvas for Student-Centered Learning. Paper presented at Faculty Con 2017 (May 10), Indianapolis, IN. [PDF Version] Scott, J.H.G., & Darcy, I. (2016, June). There Goes the Neighborhood! Avoiding Labels in L2 Phoneme Detection. Paper presented at New Sounds 2016: 8th International Conference on Second-Language Speech, Aarhus, Denmark. [PDF Version] Scott, J. H. G. (2016, April). Where It Is and How It’s Writ: Influences on Cross-Language Perceptual Assimilation of German Fricatives. Paper presented at Sound to Word in Bilingual and Second Language Speech Perception (Sound to Word 2016), Iowa City, IA. Scott, J. H. G. (2015, May). Position-sensitive perceptual assimilation of German dorsal fricatives by L1 English pre-learners: The initial state for acquisition of an L2 phonological alternation. Paper presented at the Twenty-First Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-21), Provo, UT. Sprouse, R. A., Seo, H.-K., El-Ghazoly, B., Gabriele, L. McGuire, M. Mossman, S., Scott, J. H. G., & Su, Y. (2013, October-November). Deep lexical transfer and the acquisition of the English dative alternation. Poster presented at the 32nd Second Language Research Forum (SLRF), Provo, UT. Scott, J. H.G. (2013, April). West-Germanic Gemination: Stress, Sonority and the Split Margin Approach. Paper presented at the Nineteenth Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-19), Buffalo, NY. Darcy, I., Dekydtspotter, L., Sprouse, R. A., Daidone, D., Kaden, C., Krueger, F., & Scott, J. H. G. (2012, April). Asymmetric development in lexical encoding of L1-English L2-German front rounded vowels. Paper presented at the Eighteenth Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-18), Bloomington, IN. Scott, J. H. G. (2011, April). Labio-Laryngeal Fricative of Voiceless Labio-Velar Approximant?: Ƕaþ with the Gothic <ƕ>? Paper presented at the Seventeenth Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-17), Austin, TX. Scott, J. H. G. (2011, February). Doorknobs, Beans, Sex and Doorknobs. Paper presented at the Eighth Biennial Graduate Student Conference, Bloomington, IN. Scott, J. H. G. (2010, April-May). On the Gemination of /w/ in West Germanic One Hundred Twenty-Four Years Later. Paper presented at the Sixteenth Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-16), Milwaukee, WI. Darcy, I., Dekydtspotter, L., Sprouse, R. A., Glover, J., Kaden, C., McGuire, M., Schaefer, V. & Scott, J. H. G. (2009, November). The contours of lexico-phonological dissociation in English-French interlanguage. Poster presented to the 34th Boston University Conference on Language Development, Boston, MA. Darcy, I., Dekydtspotter, L., Sprouse, R. A., Glover, J., Kaden, C., McGuire, M., Schaefer, V. & Scott, J. H. G. (2009, October). Lexical encoding of new phonological categories: An English-French interlanguage lexico-phonological study. Paper presented to the Second Language Research Forum, East Lansing, MI. Scott, J. H. G. (2009, October). A Positional Markedness Approach to Sandhi Tone Shift in Chaoyang Chinese. Paper presented at the 15th Mid-Continental Workshop on Phonology (McWOP 15), Bloomington, IN. Darcy, I., Dekydtspotter, L., Sprouse, R. A., Glover, J., Kaden, C., McGuire, M., Schaefer, V. & Scott, J. H. G. (2009, May). Category formation and lexical encoding of a new contrast. Poster presented to The Acoustical Society of America's 2nd Special Workshop on Speech: Cross-language speech perception and variation in linguistic experience. Portland, OR. Scott, J. H. G. (2008, May). The Monostratal Approach over the Cycle and Directional Asymmetry in Morphophonology. Paper presented at the Fourteenth Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-14), Madison, WI. Scott, J. H. G. (2007, October). On the Nature of Gothic /s/ and /sC/ Clusters with Respect to Sanskrit. Paper presented at Philologists in Germanic Studies at Illinois and Indiana 13 (PIGSTII 13), Urbana-Champaign, IL. Scott, J. H. G. (2007, April). Onset Formation in Sanskrit and Gothic Partial Reduplications. Paper presented at the Thirteenth Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-13), State College, PA. Scott, J. H. G. (2006, April). Tautomorphemic Coronal Fricative Dissimilation in Swabian German /sC/ Clusters. Paper presented at the Twelfth Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference (GLAC-12), Urbana-Champaign, IL. Scott, J. H. G. (2006, April). Formalizing Rhotacization (/z/ > /r/) in NW Gmc: Norse Runic Evidence. Paper presented at the Berkeley Germanic Linguistics Roundtable, Berkeley, CA. |