L2 Production of Non-contrastive Sounds in L1

• Published in: 영어어문교육, 16(2) pp. 129 - 146
• Main Authors: 서미선, 임자연
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 한국영어어문교육학회 01.07.2010
• Subjects: 영어와문학
• ISSN: 1226-2889

This paper investigates L2 production of particular sounds which are not contrastive in L1. L2 production data of nonce words by adult Korean learners of English were collected along with production of native speakers of English. Specifically, L2 production of English [s] and [S] were compared with [z] and [Z] in order to answer the question of whether the relative similarity or difference with L1 and L2 sounds or the absence of phonological features would create learning difficulty to L2 learners. In doing so, both common and different acoustic characteristics between Korean L2 learners of English and native speakers of English were examined. According to the results, L2 learners showed better production with [s] and [S], non-contrastive but allophonic sounds of the same phoneme in L1. Learners experienced more difficulty with [z] and [Z], non-contrastive and non-occurring sounds in L1. KCI Citation Count: 2