| In recent years, a great deal of research on second language (L2) phonetics and phonological acquisition has focused on non-target production patterns of L2 learners, addressing issues such as native language (L1) transfer into L2 and the nature and source of developmental errors. Previous studies of phonological processes in L2 acquisition have traditionally focused on the analysis of discrete L2 segments (Flege 1987, 1999; Major & Kim 1996), rather than on L2 production patterns. This study, however, examines the production of sequences of sounds in Russian L1 and L2 from both the phonetic and phonological perspectives.;Two acoustic experiments in this dissertation analyze native and non-native subjects' production of real and nonsense words containing obstruent clusters in which regressive voicing assimilation is required. For example, the form lodka 'boat' is rendered orthographically with a voiced stop /d/ which is, however, pronounced as a voiceless /t/ when followed by a voiceless obstruent. Both L1 and L2 speakers were found to exhibit a great deal of variability in their production of the devoiced obstruents in question, thus demonstrating gradiency in devoicing. Non-native production also suggests gradual acquisition of L2 phonological patterns.;The findings of these experiments are analyzed within the stochastic Optimality Theory framework. Gradual L2 acquisition is accounted for by the re-ranking of L1 constraints; whereas, gradiency in production is viewed as a result of the re-ranking of constraints within phonetically detailed constraint families. |
