Acquisition of segmental structure in first language acquisition is accomplished
through the interaction of Universal Grammar and the learner's detection of
phonemic contrasts in the input (Rice and Avery, 1995; Brown and Matthews,
1993,1997). This article investigates the acquisition of the English
/l–r/,/b–v/ and /f–v/ contrasts by second language
learners whose L1s do not contrast these segments. Based on L1 phonological
acquisition and infant speech perception research,a model of phonological
interference is developed which explains how the influence of the L1 phonology
originates and identifies the level of phonological knowledge that impinges upon L2
acquisition. It is proposed that if a learner's L1 grammar lacks the
phonological feature that differentiates a particular non-native contrast, he or she
will be unable to perceive the contrast and therefore unable to acquire the novel
segmental representations. In order to evaluate this hypothesis, two experimental
studies were conducted. Experiment 1 investigates the acquisition of /l/ and /r/ by
Chinese and Japanese speakers; the acquisition of the /l–r/,
/b–v/ and /f–v/ contrasts by Japanese speakers is compared in
experiment 2. The results from an AX discrimination task and a picture selection
task indicate that successful acquisition of a non-native contrast is constrained by
the learner's L1 grammar. Differences between Chinese and Japanese speakers
(experiment 1) and differences in the acquisition of several different contrasts
among Japanese speakers (experiment 2) are argued to reflect subtle phonological
properties of the learners' respective L1s. These findings demonstrate that
a speaker's L1 grammar may actually impede the operation of UG,
preventing the L2 learner from acquiring a non-native phonemic contrast.
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