Perception of English syllable-final consonants by Chinese speakers and Japanese speakers

This study investigates perception by Mandarin Chinese and Japanese native speakers of English consonants in syllable-final position, and the effect of vowel duration as a cue to voicing in syllablefinal stops. Two experiments were conducted in the study and the results revealed that Mandarin Chinese speakers performed better than Japanese speakers but the position of the consonant in the syllable affects the perception rate. Japanese speakers can perceive the voicing in syllable-final consonants better than Mandarin Chinese speakers; also they may make better use of vowel duration as a cue to perceive voicing in syllable-final stops.