Abstract
Korean Journal of Applied Linguistics, 38/3, 95-127. This study was aimed at investigating the perception and production of short vowel /e/ and /ɛ/ of middle-age Korean native speakers and Indonesian intermediate and advanced learners, by conducting AX discrimination task and production task such as reading sentences composed of words containing /e/ and /ɛ/. The findings showed that middle-age native Korean speakers and all Indonesian Korean learners distinguished /e/ and /ɛ/ well. Unlike younger generations of Korean native speakers (Cho, 2002; Choi, 2003; Park, 2011; Shin, 2011; Yoon, 2011), middle-age native Korean speakers in this study recognize the difference between /e/ and /ɛ/. Conversely, middle-age native Korean speakers and Indonesian female intermediate and advanced learners were neutralizing /e/ and /ɛ/ when pronouncing them. In case of Indonesian learners do not distinguish the pronunciation of /e/ and /ɛ/, it presumably due to the absence of /3/ in the Indonesian vocal system. The implication of this study for Korean Language Education in Indonesia, is when teaching /e/ and /ɛ/, do not show only the phoneme itself or show them separately without attach with consonant. Hence the acoustic characteristics of those two phonemes can be expressed.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call