A Comparative Study of Korean /에/,/애/ and English /${\varepsilon}$, /${\ae}$

우리말 /에/, /애/모음과 영어 /${\varepsilon}$/, /${\ae}$/ 모음에 대한 음성학적 연구

One's mother tongue can have an effect on learning a foreign language, especially on pronunciation. Investigating and comparing English vowels /${\varepsilon}$/ and /${\ae}$/, and their- supposedly- corresponding vowels in Korean /에/ and /애/, this study addresses the following questions: Can Koreans distinguish /에/ and /애/? Can they distinguish /${\varepsilon}$/ and /${\ae}$/ in English? And what is the relationship between the Korean vowels and the English vowels? That is, is the conventional correspondence of /에/-/${\varepsilon}$/ and /애/-/${\ae}$/ appropriate? The results showed that most Korean students distinguish neither Korean /에/ and /애/, nor English /${\varepsilon}$/ and /${\ae}$/. While not distinguishable within a language, Korean /에/ and /애/ still form a separate group from English /${\varepsilon}$/ and /${\ae}$/. Therefore the correspondence between /에/-/${\varepsilon}$/ and /애/-/${\ae}$/ is not appropriate. Strategies for teaching English pronunciation should be designed accordingly.