Production and Perception of Syllable Structure in Second-language Speech

Production and perception of syllables in a second language (L2) that has relatively complex syllable structure, such as English, is expected to be difficult for native speakers of a language with relatively simple syllable structure, such as Japanese. A series of experiments investigated the perception, production, and learning of English syllables by native Japanese speakers. Results showed that Japanese speakers’ ability to count syllables in spoken English words is closely related to the syllable complexity of the stimuli, while their production of English words showed more instances of epenthetic vowels for words containing voiced than voiceless consonants. In addition, improved skills in syllable perception did not lead to an improvement in production ability. Together, these results suggest that native Japanese speakers have considerable difficulties in both production and perception of syllables in spoken English, but the relationship between L2 syllable production and perception does not appear to be straightforward.