Articulatory Training and Vowel Production: The Case of [i] and [ɪ] by Korean Learners of English

Articulatory Training and Vowel Production: The Case of [i] and [ɪ] by Korean Learners of English

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of articulatory training by examining the acoustic properties of the English vowels produced by Korean learners of English. Focusing on the two high front vowels [i] and [ɪ], we compare the two acoustic properties of the English vowels - both temporal (i.e., durations) and spectral (i.e., F1 and F2) properties - in terms of the following two conditions: (i) trained vs. untrained, (ii) focused vs. unfocused. It was found that, in general, trained speakers played more distinct pronunciation between [i] and [ɪ] compared to untrained speakers, and that the speakers distinguished the two vowels more when they were focused than they were not. It was also found that speakers mostly distinguished the two vowels in terms of (i) duration and (ii) the backness of the vowels, i.e., F2 values, rather than the height of the vowels, i.e., F1. The results suggest that articulatory training might be beneficial for Korean speakers of English to produce English vowels in a more distinguishable way to lead to more successful communication.