Jeff Holliday
Department of Second Language Studies
Indiana University

Exploring possible non-auditory influences on second language phonological acquisition

In studying how second language (L2) learners acquire a particular L2 perceptual 
contrast, we typically begin our research with the observation that L2 learners 
have difficulty accurately perceiving the contrast. We might then take a look at 
how naïve listeners perceive the contrast, and then compare how novice and advanced 
L2 learners perceive the contrast. One assumption that underlies this methodology 
is the existence of some sort of perceptual continuity between naïve listeners 
and novice learners. That is, the  starting point for L2 acquisition is the naïve 
listener: as L2 instruction begins, anything the naïve listener was already doing 
"right" should remain the same, and anything the naïve listener was doing "wrong" 
should eventually be corrected and gravitate towards a native benchmark. In other 
words, beginning to explicitly learn an L2 should not "mess things up". By looking 
at data from L1 Mandarin and L1 Japanese learners of L2 Korean, I would like to 
examine whether L1 Mandarin listeners' perception of Korean fricatives is constrained 
by metalinguistic knowledge acquired through learning to read. In this work-in-progress 
talk, I will give an overview of my dissertation findings, and then kick around my 
ideas for some experiments planned for this summer. Your feedback is most welcome.