title: Learning the Marshallese Phonological System: The Role of Cross-language Similarity on the Perception and Production of Secondary Articulations.
abstract: The current study determines the influence of cross-language similarity on native English speakers' perception and production of Marshallese consonant contrasts. Marshallese provides a unique opportunity to study this influence because all Marshallese consonants have a secondary articulation. Results of discrimination and production tasks indicate that learners more easily acquire sounds if they are perceptually less similar to native language phonemes. In addition, the degree of cross-language similarity seemed to affect perception and production and may also interact with the effect of orthography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Linguistics and English Language, Brigham Young University, USA.
authors.forename: Heather Willson
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Sturman
authors.affiliation: Department of Linguistics and English Language, Brigham Young University, USA.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Baker-Smemoe
authors.affiliation: Department of Linguistics and English Language, Brigham Young University, USA.
authors.forename: Sofía
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carreño
authors.affiliation: Department of Linguistics and English Language, Brigham Young University, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Miller
keywords: Marshallese; Second language; phonetics; secondary articulation