Effects of Pitch Cues on the Identification of Vowel Length in L2 Japanese

This study explored the effects of pitch cues on the identification of the word-final Japanese vowel length, which is primarily cued by vowel duration. Native speakers of English (NE), Chinese (NC) and Japanese (NJ) participated in the experiment. Learners, who do not use duration distinctively in their L1, utilize duration as a cue for the contrast and they can approximate boundary location to NJ’s. In addition, pitch cues did not affect NE’s perception but it did affect NC’s identification. These results suggest that the role of cues in learners’ L1 relates to the use of cues in their L2.