Simplification: A Case of Phonetic Salience of Consonant Clusters in Marathi

Abstract

Abstract: Second/foreign language learning has myriad repercussions upon the way/s a learner tries to learn it. The most striking is how the new language sounds to the learner. Interestingly, the new language sounds both familiar and different. This is unique to all languages sharing language universals. A learner uses strategies to simplify the words of second/foreign language. In doing so, he/she adds phonetic features of his/her native language. The purpose of this research article is to observe native speakers of Ahirani (a dialect of Marathi) making use of English words with obstruent clusters and way/s of simplifying them. It would talk on possible reasons for simplification. The study is observational-analytical in nature. A datasheet as a tool was used to note the English words spoken by the speakers exhibiting cluster simplification. The data collected shows how they adapt English words (pronunciation) to fulfill their purpose of informal communication. The author subscribed to the contrast-based approach to cluster simplification in light of cluster simplification by speakers of Marathi. The author commented on variations in producing consonant clusters of English, simplification processes adapted and morphophonemic environment contributing to simplification. The study observed epenthesis, deletion, vowel shortening, vowel change, as the most frequent strategies used by the participants. Keywords: Consonant, Cluster Simplification, Phonetic Environment, Marathi/Ahirani