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Establishing Phonetic Systems: Adult Second Language Learners Versus

First Language Acquisition in Children
Introduction
When comparing the language development of adults and children, there are many
factors that contribute to why learning a new language as an adult is more challenging.
Adult learners attempting to acquire a second language have to overcome many pre-
established native language rules and associations when learning a second language. In
addition, learning a language as an adult is a more conscious and outright effort where the
individual needs to stay motivated and engaged in a way that children do not have to.
Research has found that acquiring a second phonetic system is more challenging than
developing a first one. This is a result of adult language learners having complete
knowledge of one phonetic system with numerous categories and parameters specific to
that language. Research shows that there is controversy regarding whether or not the
language system already in place in the learners mind works as a positive contribution to
the target languages phonetic system or as an obstacle for the language learner to
overcome (Gass, Behney, & Plonsky, 2013, p. 164). Similarities and differences within the
two languages whether real or perceived by the learner can affect the process of acquiring
this new phonetic system. This paper will explain how phonetic systems are established in
the brain, and how this process differs in children versus adult second language learners.
First Language Phonetic Systems
During the first six months of a childs life their minds have the capacity to
discriminate sounds from any language (Kuhl et al., 2006, p. 13). In that time, childrens
phonetic systems are openly perceptive of all language input enabling them to distinguish
speech sounds because they lack an already established set of sound categories.
Nevertheless, after the first six months have passed the childs phonetic system has formed
through audio input and will only register differences that are meaningful in their now
established phonetic system. These defined categories can diminish a childs ability to
acquire an additional language if they have not been exposed to this languages phonetic
forms before they are six-months of age. Once a native language system has been
established, the capability to discriminate sounds from all languages declines due to firmly
defined categories.
Child language learners, whether acquiring a first or second language, have the
capacity to establish new sound categories, therefore enabling unfamiliar sounds to form
unattached to or confused with previously learned sounds. Recognizing phonetic forms
amidst the numerous other sounds heard throughout the day is a necessary progression in
language acquisition. For children, this task is accomplished by daily reinforcement and
encouragement through affirmation and recurring language. This positive reinforcement
can be provided through repetition and overemphasis of desired sounds, along with visual
stimuli that trigger memories connecting the sounds being heard to the objects being
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presented. While first language acquisition is comprised of a significant amount of

imitation and support, it also involves a significant amount of time establishing connections
between sounds and meanings (e.g. making generalizations). Children are constantly
testing their generalizations by listeners responses, so if these utterances are successfully
affirmed they become further established into their linguistic system (Gass et al., 2013, p.
109). For children, this process is constantly taking place with new hypotheses being
generated and being either confirmed or proven ineffective leading to new attempts at
successful communication. This continuous trial and error is not possible for adult
language learners simply because they do not have the time or resources to spend
countless hours a day formulating and reformulating phonetic forms in the attempt to
construct coherent utterances.
Repeated exposure to sounds is one of the best ways for language learners to
develop a new phonetic system. While there have been some studies suggesting children's
phonetic detector systems need little input to begin synthesizing sound patterns, these
reports still recognize that some sort of consistent contact with language is necessary to
generate a complete sound system (Eimas, 1975, p. 346). For example, Kuhl et al. (2006)
argued that a childs increasing neural recognition of familiar phonetic patterns for their
native language translates to quicker understanding of more complex linguistic features of
that native language. In contrast, children who are still able to differentiate between
sounds from multiple languages are said to need more time to acquire their native
languages linguistic structure (p. 19). This would infer that increased exposure to the
native language enhances the learners knowledge of that specific phonetic system while
narrowing the capacity to distinguish between other nonnative phonetic systems.
Increased exposure to a languages forms and functions enables the establishment of
specific linguistic rules and constraints for a phonetic system. Parameters are based on
exposure and take time and reinforcement to institute. Once these limitations are set, it will
take even longer for a language learner to reset or change them than it took for the initial
system to be established in the first place. As children grow, they define their parameters
and set linguistic guidelines to fit into these acknowledged parameters.
Second Language Phonetic Systems
Similarities and differences between the native and the target languages phonetic
systems can alter the likelihood of transferring phonetic forms from one language to the
other. Bruner (1957) describes perception as the process of categorizing aspects of an idea,
object, or place and formulating inferences that correlate with them (p. 123). These
perceived connections may help language learners recognize patterns in what they hear
and aid in the categorization of sounds into those that have semantic relevance and those
that do not. However, perceiving closeness between languages can lead to misplacement of
sounds into preexisting categories.
Perceived Closeness
The challenge for many adult language learners is the difficulty in detaching target
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language sounds from those found in their native language. Flege, Schirru, and MacKay
(2002) produced a speech learning model (SLM) that explains how sound equivalencies
may cause the learner to classify a target language sound with a preexisting native
language sound (p. 469). For example, a native speaker of Spanish who is trying to learn
Portuguese may perceive the two languages phonetic systems to be nearly identical, when
in reality there are many differences that need to be understood in order to produce each
languages specific sound forms. Perceived closeness may make establishing second
language phonetic categories more difficult than creating ones for a native language (Baker,
Trofimovich, Mack, & Flege, 2002, p. 1). To demonstrate this, many vowels can be described
in similar ways (e.g. back/front, round/unround, tense/lax) and still show variance when
used across languages, such as stress, length, or intonation (Yavas, 2011, p. 19). The
learner may assume these sounds to be the same when heard, but using them
interchangeably will make distinguishing and categorizing them into separate systems with
their own unique rules for distribution and positioning a challenge.
Perceived Distance
Perceived distance between the sounds from the native language and the target
language can increase the chances of those sounds creating separate categories in the
target languages phonetic system. This disconnect can be experienced by language
learners who encounter an unfamiliar sound to their established phonetic system, such as
the dental/alveolar trill [r] found in Spanish heard by a native English speaker. Establishing
new sound categories speeds up the learning process by cultivating phonetic distinction
through the separation of target sounds from the native language phonetic system. Baker et
al. (2002) designed a study testing the ability of children and adults to distinguish between
similar vowel sounds, eight Korean vowels contrasted against eight vowels in English. The
test used a wide range of sounds varying from easy to tell apart to hardly differentiable.
The results of the experiment showed that children were less likely to group the similar
Korean sounds into their native language (English) sound categories, whereas adults
showed more instances of doing so (p. 6). Studies such as this aim to prove that our native
language phonetic categories mature and become major attractors for similarly perceived
sounds as we age.
Learning a second language is far more challenging than a first because the native
languages parameters have been set up and followed consistently. These defined
categories contribute to the adult learners struggle with acquiring a second language
because they have had no need to discriminate between these sounds since childhood.
Werker and Tees (1984) tested the ability of language learners with an established
phonetic system to discriminate non-English speech sounds. The experiment tested eighty
adult English speakers on their ability to distinguish Hindis contrast of voiceless,
unaspirated retroflex versus dental place of articulation, /a/ - /ta/ (p. 1868). The results
indicated that the English native speakers still had the capacity required to recognize the
acoustic distinctions, but their categorical processing strategies were restricted to their
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native phonemic boundaries and thus they were unable to dependably distinguish between
the two sounds. What this means for adult language learners is that their discriminatory
competencies have not been required for a period of time so their ability to respond to
these distinctions has diminished. Increased exposure to these new phonetic forms will
trigger learners inactive language processing skills so target language acquisition can
occur.
Positive Transfer
An advantage for adult language learners is their knowledge and ability to transfer
language-neutral items. These are components of one language that are commonly found in
several other languages linguistic structures. For example, some of the most common
sounds in any world language are the nasals [n], [m], and [] (Yavas, 2011, p. 14). This
would imply that a native speaker of French learning English would not have to learn a new
sound but transfer that category from their native language. However, many of these
identical sounds have phonemic features that correspond with rules specific to each
language they are found in (e.g. used as a phoneme versus an allophone). While there are
many language-neutral items that can be exploited during second language acquisition, a
lot of phonetic systems are made up of language-specific items that are unique to the
learners language (Gass et al., 2013, p. 150). Some language-neutral items could possibly
be semantic and grammar related, such as the use of question marks, but these are
assumptions brought from the native language to the learning situation by the learner.
Language-specific items from a language could include idioms and expressions exclusive to
that language. These sounds may be easier or more difficult to acquire for adult second
language learners depending on their ability to develop new categories and distinguish
their uses and characteristics.
Transfer is a cross-linguistic influence of language learning that may affect
development of phonetic patterns for adult language learners. Positive transfer facilitates
phonetic system forming if the native language has forms that can be used in the same
context in the target language. This allows these categories to be transferred from one
language to the other, and may aid in the learning process for these language learners. For
example, a learner whose native language is Thai, a language that has strongly aspirated
voiceless stops, tries to learn Mandarin as a second language. Since Mandarin also strongly
aspirates voiceless stops, the learner may transfer these sounds from one language to the
next. Language items or sounds that are common in many languages are unmarked, which
means that they can be found in languages around the world (Gass et al., 2013, p. 148).
These unmarked sounds are more likely to be transferred than forms that are unusual or
marked. Marked sounds are similar to language-specific items in the sense that they do not
typically transfer from one language to another.
Pronunciation Difficulties for Second Language Learners
There is one more challenge that may impede an adult language learners ability to
acquire a second languages phonetic system, and that is oral delivery. Articulation and
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pronunciation differences are abundant across the worlds languages, and they influence
how speakers produce sounds. Some sound combinations are a challenge for particular
language learners because they are not found in their native language. For example,
Spanish speakers learning English have difficulty with words that begin with the sound /s/
because Spanish words do not use /s/ as an onset (i.e. in syllable-initial position). A
Spanish native speaker may produce esnack instead snack, which is a simplification
strategy adding one or more sounds to a word in order for it to fit into a familiar native
language structure. This strategy has been found to be used by adult second language
learners as a way of adapting target language utterances to their native language norms.
Issues concerning sound production are a huge consideration when learning a new
language. Each learner will encounter challenges relative to their experience, whether they
are overcoming influences from their native language or attempting to acquire new sounds
for the first time.
Conclusion
Adults have to overcome many obstacles that children do not when it comes to
acquiring language. Some of the challenges discussed in this paper derive from already
established phonetic systems, which make discriminating new sounds a challenge. When a
learner cannot distinguish one sound from another this inhibits new sounds systems from
forming. Phonetic systems are the foundation of being able to recognize and use second
language forms, so once these parameters are set (after six months old) acquisition
becomes increasingly difficult. The older a learner is, the more time has passed since they
have used their discriminatory competencies, potentially making it harder for them to
reconstruct phonetic parameters that have been firmly defined for years. With all of these
obstacles facing adult second language learners, acquiring a second language can be
challenging, but with motivation to learn and continuous practice any learner can become a
polyglot.














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