Research:
Main Research Interests:
My research focuses on speech sound systems, including phonetics, phonology, and the interface between the two. I work primarily on English as a second language and (Costa Rican) Spanish. I have also conducted fieldwork on Limon Creole and Beijing Mandarin in New York City. My work employs experimental approaches and also integrates phonological theory to examine both categorical and gradient aspects of speech.
More specifically, my research interests include:
L2 phonological development: the development of categorical representations in second language speech, with particular attention to L1–L2 phonological interaction.
L2 phonetic development: the gradient acquisition of phonetic structure in L2 speech, including the development of acoustic and articulatory properties such as voice onset time (VOT) and vowel space organization.
Phonetic variation: patterns of inter-speaker variability and the factors that may account for such variation, including bilingualism and other forms of language experience.
Consonant clusters: the study of consonant sequences from both a phonological and phonetic perspective, including the production of non-native clusters, the emergence of epenthesis and deletion patterns, and the role of contextual phonetic factors affecting one or both members of the cluster.
Additional Academic Interests:
I also maintain a strong interest in second and foreign language instruction, particularly in the design and evaluation of pronunciation teaching strategies that support L2 learners in the acquisition and refinement of phonetic and phonological patterns, in both perception and production.
Peer Reviewed Articles:
Fonseca Quesada, F. (2025). Consonant clusters and rhotic variation in Costa Rican Spanish. Borealis – An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics, 14(2), 385–403. https://doi.org/10.7557/1.14.2.8107
Fonseca Quesada, F. (2024). Insights into Spanish metrical structure through language games. Borealis – An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics, 13(2), 329–347. https://doi.org/10.7557/1.13.2.7701
Fonseca Quesada, F. (2024). Substitution Patterns of the English Voiced Interdental Fricative by L1 Costa Rican Spanish Speakers. RLLT 21, eds. Grant Armstrong, Roberta D’Alessandro & M. Carmen Parafita Couto. Special Issue of Isogloss. Open Journal of Romance Linguistics 10 (2)/1, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/isogloss.284
Relevant Manuscripts:
Fonseca Quesada, F. (under review). Mirror Phonological Distributions in L1–L2 Mapping: [d ð ɾ] in L1 Spanish Learners of General American English. (Manuscript under review).
Conference Talks and Posters:
Fonseca Quesada, F. (2026). Does L1 explicit phonological knowledge improve discrimination rates of L2 phonological contrasts? Current Approaches to Spanish and Portuguese Second Language Phonology - CASPSLaP 20246. Brigham Young University; Provo, UT. February 27-28, 2026. [slides]
Ghoshal Kaustubh, Gu Christine, Liu Zhilang, Fonseca Quesada F., Kortenhoven Gideon, Lacerda Sequeira Vitor, Davidson Lisa (2026). Beijing Mandarin nasalization upon rhotic suffixation is phonologized. Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting - LSA 2026. New Orleans, LA. January 8-11, 2026. [abstract]
Fonseca Quesada, F. (2025). Grupos consonánticos con sonidos róticos (/Cɾ/ y /ɾC/) en dos variedades del español costarricense: Valle Central y hablantes del criollo limonense. VII Congreso de la Asociación Centroamericana de Lingüística ACAling. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras UNAH. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Agosto 20-22, 2025.
Fonseca Quesada, F. (2025). English Allophonic Tap [ɾ] by L1 Spanish Speakers: Allophonic Split vs Allophonic Union. The 11th International Symposium on the Acquisition of Second Language Speech (New Sounds). University of Toronto, Canada. April 23-25, 2025. [poster]
Fonseca Quesada, F. (2024). Alveolar Tap in Consonant Clusters ([Cɾ] and [ɾC]): A challenge to Lenition Scales. Stony Brook, Yale, NYU, CUNY Linguistics Conference - SYNC 2024. New York University; New York City, NY. December 7th, 2024. [abstract]
Fonseca Quesada, F. (2024). L1 Spanish Speakers Learners of English: The complexity of /d/. Current Approaches to Spanish and Portuguese Second Language Phonology - CASPSLaP 2024. North Carolina State University; Raleigh, NC. March 15-16, 2024. [abstract]
Fonseca Quesada, F. (2023). On the Metrical Structure of Spanish Language Games. 53rd Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages - LSRL 53. INALCO, Paris. June 26-30, 2023. [abstract]
Fonseca Quesada, F. (2022). Substitution Patterns of the English Voiced Inter-Dental Fricative by L1 Costa Rican Spanish speakers. 52 Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages - LSRL 52. University of Wisconsin-Madison (Virtual Talk). April 21-23, 2022. . [abstract]