The Modification of Onsets in a Markedness Relationship: Testing the Interlanguage Structural Conformity Hypothesis

Abstract

The Interlanguage Structural Conformity Hypothesis (Eckman, 1991) predicts that implicational universals influence the structuring of interlanguage phonology. Under one interpretation, L2 learners will modify more marked structures more frequently than less marked structures. This study tested that hypothesis by examining how frequently 11 young adult, native Spanish speakers modified English 2-and 3-member onsets, the latter being more marked than the former. The environments before the onsets and the sonority relationships among the consonants in the onsets were strictly controlled. Results indicate that (1) 3-member onsets were modified significantly more frequently than were 2-member onsets; and (2) epenthesis (the primary process of modification) occurred significantly more frequently after consonants than after vowels.Ever since the publication of the Markedness Differential Hypothesis (MDH-Eckman, 1977), much of the research in interlanguage phonology has examined the influence of implicational universals on the acquisition of a second language (L2) phonology

Vowel Epenthesis of /sC(C)/ Onsets in Spanish/Swedish Interphonology: A Longitudinal Case Study

“…The study confirmed most of the results from previous research, for example, that the frequency of epenthesis varies with preceding phonetic environment. However, the study suggested that a lowering effect of preceding vowels must be present, not just the enhancing effect of preceding consonants suggested by Carlisle (1997). …”

“…As the reader will note, Robert Carlisle alone is responsible for the vast majority of empirical studies available today on the epenthesis of /sC(C)/ onsets in the L2 production of L1 Spanish speakers (see Carlisle, 1988Carlisle, , 1991aCarlisle, , 1991bCarlisle, , 1992Carlisle, , 1994Carlisle, , 1997Carlisle, , 1998. Even though Carlisle's theoretical approach was outlined and explained in some detail in several articles (e.g., 1991a, 1997), and even though it is beyond the scope of this article to evaluate how well different phonological theories account for the Spanish #esC(C) pattern or the L2 production of Spanish learners, it is still worthwhile to iterate Carlisle's approach here, and also to present an opposite view.…”

“…In the more recent version of generative phonology, namely the nonlinear, CV-based framework (Clements & Keyser, 1983), it is held that the /s/ of underlying initial /sC(C)/ clusters in Spanish is "extrasyllabic"-that is, not dominated by a syllable node. To illustrate, consider the epenthesis rule in (1) below (after Carlisle, 1991aCarlisle, , 1997 and the derivation shown in (2).…”

“…While claiming that the presence of /e/ is obligatory in all dialects of Spanish, Carlisle (1997) also stated that "the /e/ is predictable and consequently is inserted by a phonological rule" (p. 337, emphasis added). Although the predictability claim is indisputable, many linguists would object to the latter part of this statement, arguing that being predictable is not necessarily equal to being rule governed; in fact, some phonologists argue in the opposite direction and take predictability as evidence that something cannot be governed by rule.…”

Categorias fonéticas na aprendizagem de língua estrangeira

“…Outra seqüência problemática do inglês, objeto de pesquisas recentes com falantes nativos de espanhol e português, são os encontros consonantais iniciais com /s/: /sp, st, sk, spr, spl, str, skr, skw, sm, sn, sl/ (CARLISLE, 1992(CARLISLE, , 1994(CARLISLE, , 1997(CARLISLE, , 1998REBELLO, 1997, RAUBER, 2002. Embora nenhuma dessas pesquisas lidou com percepção, há evidências do ensino da pronúncia do inglês para alunos intermediários brasileiros: vários alunos meus apresentaram grandes dificuldades em exercícios de distinção entre pares como specially/especially e state/estate.…”