Speech production and sociolinguistic perception in a 'non-native' second language context: A sociophonetic study of Korean learners of English in the Philippines

• Main Author: Imperial, Rowland Anthony S.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2016
• Subjects: English language—Social aspects—Philippines; English language—Study and teaching—Korean speakers; English Language and Literature
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/11095
• Institution: De La Salle University

Foreign nationals studying English as a Second Language (ESL) in the Philippines encounter and learn Philippine English (PhilE), a norm-developing, Outer Circle variety of English (Bolton, 2008; Kachru, 1992) that has undergone various indigenization and nativization processes (Borlongan, 2011; Schneider, 2003), most notably in its phonology. Recent contributions to Philippine-based ESL and Second Language Acquisition research have particularly paid attention to language teaching and pedagogy, language ideologies, and foreign learners’ perceptions of and attitudes towards PhilE. In this study, I attempt to advance research by studying L1 and L2 speech production patterns and sociolinguistic perceptions of PhilE among Korean ESL learners. Koreans account for one of the largest number of foreign students enrolled in Philippine education institutions (D.-Y. Kim, 2015; Miralao, 2007), making them an ideal case to study. This thesis presents perhaps the first study that analyzes sociophonetic variation in second language acquisition in the Philippines. PhilE is a ‘non-native’ variety of English with a distinctive two-way stop system characterized by negative-to-short Voice Onset Time (VOT). This type of phonation feature is not common among native Korean speakers, whose L1 involves a three-way stop system combined with a significant degree of tonal/vocalic interaction (to achieve maximal phonemic contrast). Because the two stop systems are quite dissimilar from one another in terms of consonantal and tonal/vocalic contrast, Korean students who exhibit varying lengths and/or degrees of linguistic exposure to PhilE, and encounter different linguistic vii experiences during their L2 learning, would be expected to exhibit varying degrees of or changes to their categorical assimilation of L1 and L2 sounds (Flege, 1987, 1995) and phonetic drift patterns (Chang, 2012) in their interlanguage. The present analysis of variation in L1 and L2 speech production focuses on two acoustic features: VOT and Fundamental Frequency at the onset of the following vowel (f0 onset). VOT and f0 onset results reveal that Philippine-based Korean (PHKor) students are (1) categorically assimilating phonetic features of the PhilE stop system across segmental and subsegmental levels; (2) exhibiting L1-to-L2 interference, evidenced by L2 stops that appear to assimilate towards Korean production norms in certain phonological environments; and (3) producing dissimilatory phonetic drift patterns in their L1 sound system, indicating bi-directional sound change and development. Moreover, PHKor students who are more aware of or better at identifying and/or perceiving (Standard) PhilE are less likely to assimilate to non-native L2 production norms during their L2 speech acquisition. This highlights the importance of sociolinguistic perception and perceptual accuracy to L2 speech acquisition. The study also reveals that PHKor students now show more neutral-to- positive attitudes towards PhilE as a medium of learning and instruction (cf. Castro & Roh, 2013; Roh, 2010), but remain reluctant to acquire PhilE accent features in their speech production. Even though Koreans are putting more economic and social value into Philippine-based ESL education, many of them continue to regard PhilE as a less prestigious, ‘non-native’ variety of English, and still aspire to achieve ‘native-like’ English norms in speech.