Analysis of Korean Word-Initial Stops: A Phonetic Study on Non-Native Speakers of Korean

The present study is focused on analyzing the non-native production of the Korean three-way laryngeal contrast, particularly within the context of Korean plosives. The central aim is to investigate how non-native speakers produce this novel three-way distinction, in line with established studies such as those conducted by Chang (2009) and Seo et al., (2020). These studies have identified notable variation in how L2 learners realize this phonemic distinction, revealing that non-native speakers often exhibit diverse phonetic realizations. This research seeks 12 to expand upon these findings by providing a more nuanced understanding of these variations, particularly in relation to the phonetic cues used by non-native speakers.

Furthermore, the study aims to explore the effects of proficiency on the production of the three-way laryngeal contrast. Building on the work of Ryu (2017), which demonstrated that L2 learners with higher proficiency levels in Korean are better able to perceive distinct phonemes compared to less proficient learners, this study will further investigate how proficiency influences production accuracy and the ability to achieve the novel three-way distinction. By examining these proficiency effects, the research intends to contribute valuable insights into how varying levels of language proficiency impact the acquisition of complex phonemic contrasts.