Stops and Phrasing in Korean and English Monolinguals and Bilinguals

The theoretical status of early bilinguals is an area of some controversy. This study investigates subphonemic variation in Korean and English by monolinguals, and bilinguals who were born in the US (simultaneous), moved to the US as young children (early), or moved to the US during late adolescence (late). Speakers were recorded producing word-initial stops in a phrase-medial context. Measurements included stop VOT, closure duration, prevoicing, initial pitch on the following vowel, H1-H2, and F0 pattern across the carrier phrase. Bilingual productions were generally similar to monolinguals'. However, early and simultaneous bilinguals exhibited a 3-way VOT contrast for Korean stops that was recently neutralized to a 2way contrast in Korea [11]. These findings are discussed with respect to transfer/convergence effects and phonetic change in Korea.