Perception Grammar for Loanwords

Abstract

This paper is concerned with how perception influences the surface forms of loanwords. I argue that the /t+s/ cluster in English is adopted as [ch] in loanwords due to its perceptual similarity to [ch] rather than [ts] in Korean. I also argue that different surface forms of /ts/ and /t/ in English appear in loanwords due to different acoustic cues. Furthermore, I consider surface forms of liquid in loanwords and show that perception is again responsible for the appearance of // in phrase-initial position and different surface realizations of /Consonant+Liquid/ clusters.