This study was conducted to analyze geminate consonant errors(안에 [an.ɛ] → *안네[an.nɛ]) produced by Chinese learners during their acquisition of Korean linking sounds within the framework of Optimality Theory. The study was further intended to find possible constraints and causes applicable to the error. This paper argues that this error results from the interplay of the Align-R constraint, where the boundaries of a morpheme and syllable are aligned in the learner’s mother tongue, and the onset constraint, which is required for CV, a universal linguistic syllable. This study identifies the cause of the geminate consonant errors among Chinese leaners as the consequence of the simultaneous influences of interference from the learners’ native language and of linking sounds, which occur universally in linguistics.

The purpose of this study is to examine if Japanese and Chinese language learners of Korean, whose native language has a CV syllable structure, can apply the liaison rule when C2 of Korean the CVC syllable structure is followed by a vowel, where the application of liaison rule is necessary. For this purpose, Japanese and Chinese learners of Korean were divided into two groups by their Korean proficiency levels: beginner and advanced learners. Then the study examined if these learners can apply the Korean liaison rule in the sentence reading task. The result showed that learners in their higher proficiency level were able to apply the liaison rule better. The degree of increased application was more drastic, especially in the cases of Japanese learners. The performance varied by their native languages, it appears that Japanese learners better apply the liaison rule than Chinese learners. In addition, the result also differed by the familarity of the vocabularies used in the reading task. The liaison rule was used more accurately in more familiar vocabularies than less familiar vocabularies.