Abstract

In this study, we investigated how well phonological rules are applied when Korean people pronounce words written in Hangul. We examined the applicability of the eight obligatory phonological rules that are most frequently used in Korean. Forty two-syllable noun words were assigned for each of the rules, and 209 participants were asked to transcribe a total of 320 words after they pronounced them. The results showed that there were differences among the rules in their applicability, even though using the rules was obligatory in principle. Four of the rules, namely Tensification after an obstruent, Tensification of /d, s, j/ after /l/, Liaison, and Aspiration, showed high applicability (above 90%). The applicability of Lateralization and Nasalization of an obstruent was between 80 and 90%. Nasalization of a liquid and Nasalization of an obstruent + Nasalization of a liquid were applied in less than 80% of cases. In particular, Nasalization of an obstruent + Nasalization of a liquid had a very low applicability (53.8%) compared to all other rules. The results of this study suggest that people's actual phonological representations of words may differ from the representations expected by the application of phonological rules and may appear in various forms.