A Multidimensional Investigation of the Acquisition of sC Onset Clusters in Second Language Phonology: A Variationist Approach

This study provides a multidimensional analysis for the acquisition of /s / + consonant onset clusters (sC henceforth) in second language (L2) phonology, adopting a variationist approach for data collection and analysis that includes insights from a variety of linguistic disciplines (e.g. theoretical phonology, psycholinguistics, L2 acquisition, sociolinguistics). More specifically, the study extends a previous investigation that examined the effects of markedness and input frequency in the development of English homorganic /sl/, /sn / and /st / among Brazilian Portuguese (BP) native speakers learning English in a classroom environment (Cardoso 2006). These clusters, which do not exist in BP, are of particular relevance to test the effects of markedness and input frequency because they make opposite predictions regarding their order of acquisition: While markedness (based on Clements ’ 1990 Sonority Cycle) predicts that the least marked /sl / and /sn / should be acquired before the most marked /st/, input frequency predicts the exact opposite, i.e. that the highly frequent /st / (89 % in student-directed teacher talk) should be acquired before all other (less frequent) clusters (e.g. Bybee 2001). These predictions were compared with the results obtained in a production study that consisted of sociolinguistically-based interviews with English learners. The Goldvarb results of this study showed that learners acquire /sl / and /sn / clusters earlier than the most marked /st/