Korean Learners’ Production of L1 Korean and L2 English Alveolars: Ultrasound Imaging Evidence of Sub-Phonemic Articulatory Variation

초록

The present study aims to investigate the variation in the realization of L1 Korean alveolars and L2 English alveolars at the sub-phonemic level through ultrasound imaging of tongue articulation. Another primary goal is to examine whether transfer from L1 to L2 occurs regarding place of articulation within the phonemic category, i.e., alveolars. To this end, Korean alveolar stops /t, th/ and fricative /s/ and English stops /t,d/ and fricative /s/ were elicited from Korean learners of L2 English in an ultrasound experiment. First, results showed that three Korean stops were produced with the tongue tip raising toward the alveolar ridge at the same height, but they exhibited variation regarding the height of the tongue blade gesture at the phonetic-fine gestural level. Second, it was found that three L2 English alveolars were articulated with the tongue tip raising toward the alveolar ridge like L1 Korean alveolars, but the placement pattern of the tongue blade varied depending on individual speakers. Finally, it was demonstrated that Korean stops /th, t/ are articulated with the tongue front raising higher, compared to their English counterparts /t, d/, which accounts for the difference in the intraoral pressure and different VOTs between the two languages. Furthermore, the pattern of Korean /s/ and English /s/ showed interspeaker variations in terms of the relative tongue front position. These findings provide support for gradient realizations of L2 English alveolars /t,d,s/ as well as L1 alveolars /th,t,s/regarding the gestural movement of the tongue blade, indicative of differential patterns at the sub-phonemic level.

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