Production Pattern of English C+liquid Clusters by L2 Proficiency of Korean Speakers

Abstract

The present study investigates the production of English consonant+liquid onset clusters by Korean learners, with a specific focus on vowel insertion. Specifically, this study analyzes whether the production varies according to the type of consonants in onset clusters, i.e., voiceless stop or voiced stop or fricative+/r or l/. Furthermore, the influence of L2 proficiency on the pattern of production of consonant clusters is also examined. The results are as follows: 1) the error rate is higher in C+/l/ than C+/r/; 2) the error rate is higher in voiced stop or fricative+liquid than voiceless stop+liquid; 3) the error rate is significantly higher in fricative+/r/ than voiced stop or voiceless stop+/r/; and 4) the higher a learner’s L2 proficiency, the lower the error frequencies in C+/l/ clusters. In addition, the lower the proficiency, the stronger the [l]-gemination effect on the production of onset clusters. The first result may be due to the L1 transfer, while the second and the third results may be the effect of markedness of the segment itself. Taken together, these findings provide evidence for either the L1 transfer or the markedness effect and patterns in production according to L2 proficiency in consonant+liquid clusters.