Effect of Language Experience on the Categorical Perception of Cantonese Vowel Duration

This study investigated the effect of language experience on the categorical perception of Cantonese vowel duration distinction. By comparing Cantonese and Mandarin listeners’ performances, we found that: (1) duration change elicited categorical perception in the performance of Cantonese listeners, but not in Mandarin listeners; (2) Cantonese listeners were affected by the vowel quality differences, whereas Mandarin subjects were generally unbiased towards the quality differences; (3) effect of duration was overridden by the vowel quality [a] condition in the performance of Cantonese listeners. Our findings suggested that vowel quality is incorporated as a phonological cue in Cantonese.