SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Despite abundant evidence of malleability in speech production, previous studies of the effects of late second-language learning on first-language speech production have been limited to advanced learners. This study examined these effects in novice learners, adult native English speakers enrolled in elementary Korean classes. In two acoustic studies, learners’ production of English was found to be influenced by even brief experience with Korean. The effect was consistently one of assimilation to phonetic properties of Korean; moreover, it occurred at segmental, subsegmental, and global levels, often simultaneously. Taken together, the results suggest that cross-language linkages are established from the onset of second-language learning at multiple levels of phonological structure, allowing for pervasive influence of second-language experience on first-language representations. The findings are discussed with respect to current notions of cross-linguistic similarity, language development, and historical sound change.