The Process of Hiragana Acquisition by Young Japanese Learners in the USA

Abstract

This study investigates the process of Hiragana acquisition by American children. Research conducted in Connecticut, 1999, revealed the readability and writability of each Hiragana. The trends are similar to those of Japanese native children and the morphological resemblance and the syllabic resemblance between Hiragana letters affect negatively to the acquisition. It will be important to consider these results for the learning and teaching of Hiragana as a second language.