English Word-initial ‘s-stop’ Clusters Produced by English and Korean Speakers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate how Korean speakers differ from English speakers in producing English words with initial /s/ followed by a stop and also to suggest how to teach pronunciation of those words in English classrooms. Fifteen English and twenty Korean speakers participated in a production experiment. Based on the statistical results, durations of the /s/ of all the experiment words were significantly different between the English and Korean groups. The statistical results for maximum intensities of the /s/, and durations and maximum intensities of the following vowels were complex; some of them were significantly different and others were not between the two groups. When relative durations of the /s/ to those of the following vowels were considered, those of the English speakers were significantly higher than those of the Korean speakers. In addition, relative maximum intensities of the /s/ to those of the following vowels were significantly higher in the English speakers' productions than in the Korean speakers' productions. These results reveal that Koreans have difficulty pronouncing those words. Based on these findings, English teachers should have students practice pronouncing the /s/ with longer duration and higher intensity than those of the following vowel.