음성음운형태론연구 32집 1호 Lee, Hae-young (이혜영)
2026.05.08 12:22
Beyond VOT: The interaction of spectral and temporal cues in Korean learners' production of English stops
Abstract
This study investigates the acoustic realization of English stops by Korean high school learners, focusing on the developmental trajectory of cue-weighting strategies between Voice Onset Time (VOT) and Fundamental Frequency (F0). In the context of the ongoing tonogenetic sound change in Korean, where F0 has become a primary cue for stop contrasts, this research examines whether EFL learners at the peak of their secondary schooling can successfully re-weight these cues for the English binary voicing system. Acoustic data were collected from two groups of Korean male high school students (High-proficiency and Low-proficiency) and compared with native English speakers. The results indicated that while High-proficiency learners achieved near-native VOT values (temporal cue), they failed to internalize the native- like joint two-dimensional deployment of VOT and F0 (spectral cue) that characterizes native English stop production. Scatterplot analysis revealed significant category overlap in learner speech, suggesting that the lack of F0 control contributes to less distinct phonological boundaries. These findings support the Speech Learning Model-revised (SLM-r) and imply that L2 pronunciation instruction should evolve from a uni-dimensional focus on aspiration to a multi-dimensional approach that incorporates micro-prosodic features to improve acoustic accuracy and support native-like cue integration.
Keywords
English stops, VOT, F0, Cue-weighting, L2 Acquisition, Korean Learners, Tonogenesis
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