A Study of N-Lateralization in Korean Assimilation

Abstract

This article addresses two principal questions about the acquisition of English phonology by speakers of Korean: a) Would Koreans correctly perceive what speakers produce containing /n.l/ sequences? b) Is there any gap in pronouncing Korean words /n.l/ sequences before and after learning assimilation rules at school? In order to answer these questions, we examined a Korean phonological process (N-Lateralization) and a morpho-phonological rule (L-Nasalization) in this study. The main findings from the production task are the students had production and perception difficulty with the /n.l/ sequenced words in intentional non-assimilation situation, irrespective of their English proficiency, which shows that the effect of Korean nasalization is natural and persistent among Koreans.