ABSTRACT
The study of second language (L2) speech production has a long history in second language (SLA) research, both for what it can tell us about the development of the specific skill and how it might illuminate the general processes of SLA. Over time, studies in L2 phonological attainment have become a battleground for perennial issues in SLA research encompassing cognitive, psychological, and socio-cultural factors as varied as age-related constraints on ultimate attainment, and the role of identity in perceptions of accentedness. SLA research has also benefited from the ongoing development of phonological theory which has been consistently applied to L2 production throughout the decades.
