A study investigated whether markedness relationships within a target language influence the degree of difficulty in acquisition. The Intralingual Markedness Hypothesis was developed, stating that if structures in the target language differ from those in the native language, and if those structures in the target language are in a markedness…

Reports the findings of a longitudinal study in interlanguage phonology examining the production of two structures in a markedness relationship, bilateral and trilateral onsets, the latter being more marked than the former. The study specifically tests the Interlanguage Structure Conformity Hypothesis by measuring the acquisition of the onsets in…

Tested the interlanguage structural conformity hypothesis by examining how frequently young adult, native Spanish speakers in Mexico modified English two- and three-member onsets. Results indicate that three-member onsets were modified significantly more frequently than were two-member onsets and that epenthesis occurred more frequently after…