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ERIC Number: EJ1224166
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1345-8353
EISSN: N/A
L1 and Gender Effects in Korean Learners' Production of English /s/
Seo, Misun
Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics, v23 n1 p1-14 2019
This study investigated the influence of L1 allophonic rule, L1 segment articulation, and gender in Korean learners' production of English /s/ in two different contexts (i.e., before a high front vowel vs. elsewhere) and at three different proficiency levels in English (i.e., low vs. intermediate vs. high). The influence of the Korean allophonic rule realizing /s/ as [voiceless postalveolar fricative] before a high front vowel was not attested. The low and intermediate groups did not exhibit any significant difference between English /s/ before a high front vowel and English /s/ elsewhere regarding centroid frequency (CF). This result illustrates that the low and intermediate groups did not differentiate the articulation of English /s/ in the two contexts regarding its place of articulation. In addition, the high group illustrated a significantly higher CF for English /s/ before a high front vowel than for English /s/ elsewhere, illustrating that the high group pronounced English /s/ before a high front vowel in a more front region of a vocal tract. All the three groups of Korean learners showed significantly higher CF for English /s/ occurring in the context elsewhere in comparison to the native English group, and this may have been due to the influence of an alveo-dental or dental articulation of Korean /s/ (Lee, 1996; Sohn, 1996). Finally, gender effects were attested in the production of English /s/. Male Korean groups at three different proficiency levels in English showed significantly higher CF and PAF (Peak Amplitude Frequency) than the male native English group when pronouncing English /s/ while there was no significant difference among the female groups. It is required to examine whether an alveo-dental or dental articulation of Korean /s/ is more frequently observed in males' speech than in females' in order to say that the result of English /s/ in this study occurred due to the influence of the articulation of Korean /s/.
Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics. Cheongji National University of Education. Main Bldg #506, 2065 Cheongnam-ro, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do 28690, Korea. e-mail: paaljournal@gmail.com; Web site: http://paal.kr/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A