Korean Speakers

Korean Speakers

This study examines Koreans' production of /r/ and /I/. The results show that Koreans produce them best in words with an initial consonant cluster and worst in words at the word final position. The high percentage of correct scores of /I/ is due to the high percentage in the cluster position. It is argued that the high percentage of correct scores of /I/ in the cluster position is attributable to influences of the Korean language. In Korean, geminate [II] and flap are distinct in the intervocalic position ([illi] 'reason' vs. [ifi] 'here'), which influences Koreans' production of III positively. The sound structure of the English [I] in the cluster position is considered to be similar to the Korean geminate [II]. The low percentage in the final position suggests that Koreans have difficulty producing English allophones, dark I and postvocalic r. The analysis indicates that Koreans have more difficulty in producing /r/ than /I/. It also shows that there is an interaction between speech perception and speech production. The correct scores of perception were higher than those of production.