Persian Non-High Vowel Perception by Korean Speakers and Its Education

This study investigates the pattern of vowel perception in Korean speakers with special attention to Persian non-high vowels. Results of a forced-choice identification test reveal that the Persian /ā/ and /o/ are quite consistently mapped to Korean [ā] and [o], respectively. Surprisingly, however, Korean speakers who do not know Persian at all tend to perceive [e] for Persian /a/, and [i] for Persian /e/. This result is unexpected in that the vowel qualities of the two Persian vowels are often taught as [a] for Persian /a/ and [e] for Persian /e/ in the Persian language education in Korea. Thus, the perceptual data provided in this study have important implications for a more accurate learning of Persian vowel quality for Korean learners.