Bilingual effects on /ɨ/ epenthesis in English loanwords in Korean

Previous studies report differences between recipient-language monolingual speakers and source–recipient bilinguals in loanword production. This study examines how Korean–English bilingualism influences the production of epenthetic /ɨ/ in Korean realizations of English loanwords. Korean phonotactic constraints require vowel epenthesis to repair illicit sequences, whereas Korean–English bilingual speakers may prefer more English-like sequences. To investigate the selection of epenthesis and the phonetic realization of the epenthetic vowel, the analysis focused on (i) categorical epenthesis outcomes and (ii) acoustic properties (F1, F2, duration) of /ɨ/. Results show that Korean–English bilinguals omitted epenthetic /ɨ/ in English loanwords more often than monolinguals, indicating source-language influence. However, when epenthesis occurred, the epenthetic vowel showed no reliable group differences in formant values or duration. These findings suggest that Korean–English bilinguals resist epenthesis to preserve English-like consonant sequences, but once epenthesis is applied, production follows native Korean vowel categories.