Degree and direction of foreign accent in L2 and L3 Korean speech

The current study explores the potential influence of an L2 on the acquisition of L3, in the context of English speaking learners of Japanese (the L2) and Korean (the L3). As a mean to assess the degree of influence of the L1 accent and L2 accent in L3 production, an experiment involving the perceptual judgment of a foreign accent was developed. Two groups of native English speakers [(i) five who had not learned any languages other than Korean, and (ii) five who had learned Japanese before learning Korean] produced Korean sentences, and 15 native Korean speakers ranked each production according to the speaker’s dominant accent, either English or Japanese. Based on the results of the quantitative analysis, it is suggested that L2 exerts an influence on L3 accent; however, this interference is decreased with an increase in L3 proficiency. .