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Chang, C. B. (2010) 'Learning to produce a multidimensional laryngeal contrast.' In: Dziubalska-Kołaczyk, K., Wrembel, M. and Kul, M., (eds.), New Sounds 2010: Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on the Acquisition of Second Language Speech. Poznań, Poland: Adam Mickiewicz University, pp. 89-94.

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Abstract

Research on how second-language (L2) learners acquire L2 laryngeal categories has focused on languages with “voiced” and “voiceless” categories that differ in terms of one main cue: voice onset time. The present study examines how L2 learners come to produce a laryngeal contrast that requires the use of a second phonetic dimension—namely, the three-way Korean laryngeal contrast among lenis, fortis, and aspirated stops. In a five-week longitudinal study, 26 adult native English speakers learning Korean completed a reading task in which they pronounced Korean stops in a low vowel context. Results of acoustic analyses show that while the majority of learners are eventually successful at producing a full three-way contrast, there is wide variation in the way in which they produce it. This paper describes the range of variation in phonetic spaces that learners produce, shows how these differ from the findings of cross-linguistic perception studies on English speakers hearing Korean, and concludes that a perseverative kind of “equivalence classification” plays a large role in how learners link L2 laryngeal categories to L1 laryngeal categories.

Item Type: Book Chapters
Keywords: laryngeal contrast, voice onset time, fundamental frequency, Korean, equivalence classification
SOAS Departments & Centres: Legacy Departments > Faculty of Languages and Cultures > Department of Linguistics
Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
P Language and Literature > PE English
P Language and Literature > PI Oriental languages and literatures
P Language and Literature > PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
Copyright Statement: Copyright 2010 Charles B. Chang. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author.
Date Deposited: 21 Nov 2014 16:41
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/19110

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