Word-Initial Stops in Korean and English Monolinguals and Bilinguals

The theoretical status of early bilinguals is an area of some controversy. This study investigates subphonemic variation in Korean and English by monolinguals, and bilinguals who were born in the US (simultaneous), moved to the US as young children (early), or moved to the US during late adolescence (late). Speakers were recorded producing word-initial stops in a phrase-medial context. Measurements included stop VOT, H1-H2 and initial pitch on the following vowel. Bilingual productions were generally similar to monolinguals’. However, early and simultaneous bilinguals exhibited a 3-way VOT contrast for Korean stops that was recently neutralized to a 2-way contrast in Korea (Silva 2006). These findings are discussed with respect to transfer/convergence effects and phonetic change in Korea.