The present study investigates Chinese Korean language learners' errors in pronunciation of final double consonants. Particularly, the pronunciation and assimilation of nasal sounds are analyzed to shed light on the causes of certain aspects of errors...
The present study investigates Chinese Korean language learners' errors in pronunciation of final double consonants. Particularly, the pronunciation and assimilation of nasal sounds are analyzed to shed light on the causes of certain aspects of errors.
Korean language is characterized by a range of phonological phenomena which Chinese Korean language learners find unfamiliar with and hard to learn. Differences in phonological phenomena between Chinese and Korean languages result in errors when they pronounce Korean words. Incorrect pronunciation hinders a proper delivery of meanings, and thus impacts upon overall communication. Therefore, correct pronunciation is very important in using a language. Also, pronunciation is highly likely to leave some first impression to others in terms of fluency and accuracy in speaking Korean language. Given many Koreans value the first impression and consider a foreigner's Korean language proficiency based on the person's pronunciation only, pronunciation is perceived as very important in acquiring a target language. Importantly, any correct pronunciation of Korean language is not secured by acquiring the phonemic system only. Therefore, many previous studies delved into pronunciation. By contrast, the present study is focused on the pronunciation and assimilation of nasal sounds in the final double consonants which Chinese Korean language learners are deemed to have much trouble acquiring.
The present consists of the following chapters.
Chapter 1 describes the purpose and rationale of this study and raises relevant questions. Also, this chapter reviews the literature on teaching pronunciation, relevant details and methods.
Chapter 2 compares the structures, types and constraints of syllable arrangement between Korean and Chinese languages, and reviews nasal sounds of both so as to determine the differences between them.
Chapter 3 organizes the experimental method, selects 60 Chinese Korean language learners and 10 native Korean speakers as subjects (70 in total), uses an experimental instrument designed for the purpose of this study to conduct a questionnaire survey as well as cognitive and utterance experiments, and delineates the experimental procedures.
Chapter 4 subdivides the final double consonants in view of the contexts of nasal sound pronunciation and assimilation, analyzes the aspects of errors found in Chinese Korean language learners based on the experimental results about nasal sound pronunciation and assimilation in final double consonants, and establishes the causes of such errors. The analysis findings indicate Chinese learners are characterized by dropping the final double consonants. This finding may be attributable to their lack of awareness of the rules of pronouncing the final double consonants and to the binary structure of syllables in Chinese language. Also, Chinese Korean language learners prefer to pronounce [ㄹ] in the final double consonants containing /ㄹ/. This phenomenon is attributable to Chinese learners' failure to know the correct rule concerning which one of two consonants should be dropped or pronounced despite their knowledge about the consonant cluster simplification. Also, the finding may be ascribable to the influence of Chinese spelling rule where both consonants marked are pronounced. That is, Chinese Korean language learners pronounce the final double consonants following the Chinese spelling rule due to the lack of perception of the consonant cluster simplification in Korean language, and cannot implement the prescribed standard pronunciation on account of the verbal habits of Korean native speakers. Moreover, Chinese Korean language learners show an incomplete application error by applying only one rule and dropping the other when two or more phonological rules should be applied. In addition, they make the substitution errors, pronounce two words in a single syllable by overriding the word boundaries, and fail to apply the nasal sound assimilation by pausing.
Chapter 5 presents the significance and limitations of the present discussion and mentions relevant implications and suggestions for teaching Korean language pronunciation to Chinese Korean language learners. Unlike previous studies, the present study is worth noting on the grounds that it is focused on Chinese Korean language learners and their nasal sound pronunciation and assimilation of final double consonants in Korean language given the absence of relevant independent research and that the status of their pronunciation errors as well as the causes is examined under diverse experimental conditions. Still, the experimental approach of having subjects pronounce given example sentences instead of collecting learners' actual pronunciation is the limitation of this study. Thus, for the present findings to be applicable to practical settings, it is necessary to conduct experiments by developing conversation materials and eliciting natural pronunciation from casual conversations with learners. Furthermore, specific and systematic description of the contexts of phonological rules and their application should be given at the beginner level, whilst the pronunciation including improvement and correction should be taught up to the advanced level. The foregoing aspects should be rectified in further studies.
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