PHONIC INTERFERENCE OF FIRST LANGUAGE INTO SECOND LANGUAGE: A CASE STUDY OF NON-INDONESIAN NATIVE SPEAKERS

Abstract

This study focuses on the phonological and phonetic (phonic) interference of first language (L1) by Turkish, English and Malaysian native speakers when learning Indonesian as a second language (L2). This study aims at finding out the kinds of phonic interference done by those three different language speakers and the possible relation between the degree of phonological system differences of L1&L2 and the degree of phonic interference. Data collection methods in this research are observation and interview with recording technique. Afterwards, the data were transcribed by using IPA symbols and analyzed using theories of Phonic Interference by Weinreich (1979) and Distinctive Features by Schane (1973). The results obtained from this study show that, firstly, Malaysian, Turkish, and English speakers produced phonic interference when learning Indonesian. There are four kinds of phonic interference produced by the learners; substitution, under-differentiation, over-differentiation, and re-interpretation. The biggest number of phonic interference is re-interpretation, followed by substitution, over-differentiation, and the least is under-differentiation. Secondly, the greater number of the phonological system differences between L1 and L2, the greater number of phonic interferences will occur. Thirdly, language family also has a big role in determining interference on L2 production. Fourthly, the greater number of phonological system of a language does not give any assurance that there will be less interference. And fifthly, another important factor in determining the degree of possible interference is the identical allophones and their distributions between L1 and L2.