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In:Theoretical Issues in Second Language Research: Challenges and new directions
Edited by Junya Fukuta, John Matthews and Shigenori Wakabayashi
[Studies in Bilingualism 69] 2026
► pp. 68–99

Chapter 4
Theoretical accounts of L2 phonological knowledge

Differentiating phonetics and phonology in SLA

 | Chuo University
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Abstract
This chapter examines four influential theoretical models that account for obstacles learners must overcome as they acquire the sounds of a second language, each with a different claim as to what presents the core impediment to acquisition. Central to the analysis is the dual nature of L2 sounds, both as physical entities in time and space implemented by peripheral systems and as psychological substance manipulated in cognitive operations and grammatical computation. It is argued that phonetics-based models are limited in their explanatory adequacy as accounts of the underlying impediment to L2 speech development and that phonology-based models provide greater explanatory coverage, although further theoretical developments are needed to characterize the mechanisms operating over the course of L2 development.
Article outline
  • 1.Theory-building and second-language phonology
  • 2.Sounds in a second language
  • 3.Theoretical models of L2 phonology
    • 3.1Speech learning and perceptual assimilation models
    • 3.2Second Language Linguistic Perception model (L2LP)
    • 3.3Elaborating L2 segment structure
    • 3.4Underspecification in parsing L2 input
  • 4.Modeling the acquisition of L2 sounds
  • Author queries
  • Notes
  • References
References (84)
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