THE ROLE OF NATIVE LANGUAGE PHONOLOGY IN THE PRODUCTION OF L2 CONTRASTS

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Second Language Acquisition
• Phonetics and Phonology

Background:

• Korean and Japanese possess similar sounds to English /s/ and /ʃ/.
• In both languages, /s/ can be realized as [ʃ] before high front vowels like /i/ or glides like /j/.
• A key distinction lies in Korean where [s] and [ʃ] are allophones of /s/, while in Japanese they may represent distinct phonemes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the acquisition of the English /s/–/ʃ/ contrast by native Korean and Japanese speakers.
• To explore how native language phonological systems influence the learning of L2 sound contrasts.
• To identify specific error patterns in L2 pronunciation based on L1 phonological background.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of production data from Korean and Japanese learners of English.
• Comparison of phonetic realizations of /s/ and /ʃ/ in L2 English.
• Examination of error types in the production of the /s/–/ʃ/ contrast.

Main Results:

• Learners' native language phonological systems significantly affect the acquisition of the English /s/–/ʃ/ contrast.
• Differences in the phonemic status of [s] and [ʃ] in L1 (Korean vs. Japanese) correlate with distinct acquisition patterns.
• Specific error types in L2 English pronunciation are linked to the L1 functional distribution of [s] and [ʃ].

Conclusions:

• The phonological status of sounds in a learner's native language plays a critical role in second language phonological acquisition.
• Understanding L1 phonological differences is crucial for predicting and addressing L2 pronunciation challenges.
• This study highlights the impact of native language phonology on the learning trajectory of specific L2 sound contrasts.