Duration Feature Learning for an Intervocalic Voiceless Velar Stop Consonant in L2 Japanese

This study investigates how beginning learners of Japanese language (L2 Japanese) develop the durational features of an intervocalic consonant. Acoustic analyses were conducted on speech data collected from Australian learners of Japanese over a sixteen month period at the early stages of learning. The durations of the intervocalic consonant, and the component durations, voice onset time (VOT) and closure, were analysed with respect to preceding vowel length. The results suggest that beginning learners have the ability to learn gross segmental L2 durational characteristics but have difficulty acquiring the phonetic detail appropriate for native-like production. The learning of durational features varied according to preceding vowel length suggesting the influence of L1 syllable structure on L2 learning.