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9 - Language-Specific Phonology of Heritage Perception

The Case of Korean Intervocalic Stops

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2024

By
Seung-Eun Chang
Edited by
Rajiv Rao
Rajiv Rao
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Madison
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Summary

This study investigates the effect of changes in voice onset time (VOT) on heritage speakers’ perception of Korean intervocalic stops (i.e., /p, t, k/), and compares their results to those of Korean monolinguals and second language (L2) learners of Korean who are L1 speakers of American English or Mandarin Chinese. A discrimination task using five synthetic /C1V1C2V2/ stimuli that differed in VOT of C2 was created to test inter-group differences. While the L2 learners display categorical awareness of VOT variation, Korean and heritage speakers perceive the two consonants to be the same for most stimuli regardless of VOT values. This unexpected lack of attention to VOT variation among heritage speakers suggests that they may switch their language mode to Korean and activate Korean phonology in discriminating non-phonemic VOT differences. However, their responses are not uniform or robust, with some showing a pattern similar to that of L2 learners, revealing strong individual differences among heritage speakers.

Keywords

American Englishintervocalic stopsKoreanMandarinperceptionUSvoiceless stopsvoice onset timeVOT
Type
Chapter
Information
The Phonetics and Phonology of Heritage Languages , pp. 190 - 207
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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