Jg. Hansen, Linguistic constraints on the acquisition of English syllable codas by native speakers of Mandarin Chinese, APPL LING, 22(3), 2001, pp. 338-365
This study investigates the acquisition of English syllable codas' by speak
ers of Mandarin Chinese. Three participants' naturalistic production of syl
lable codas were studied and analyzed through VARBRUL and descriptive stati
stics to determine accuracy orders and production modifications of codas by
length (single, double, and triple codas) at two data collection times wit
h. a time span of six months. Data were categorized as accurately produced,
produced with modifications (epenthesis or feature change), or absent, whi
ch meant that one or more of the consonants in the coda were not produced.
Analysis of the codas, also, focused on which linguistic constraints operat
ed on development of syllable codas, and how these linguistic constraints a
ffected production modifications by length. Results indicate that these lea
rners of English employ different production strategies based on the length
of the coda, with feature change favoured for single codas, epenthesis for
two-member codas, and absence for three-member codas. These modifications
can be explained by several linguistic constraints, including Ll transfer,
markedness, and sonority, as well as by natural phonological processes, the
latter of which appear especially salient if the coda segments have been a
cquired. These findings illustrate that coda modification is reflective of
acquisition processes, and requires further research.