Abstract
This paper examines how Taiwanese learners of Japanese perceive Japanese geminate stops. In particular, this paper examines how the closure duration, duration of the preceding vowel, accentual type, and following consonant influence the distinction between geminate and singleton stops. For this study, 120 stimuli were presented to 312 Taiwanese learners of Japanese and 36 native Japanese speakers. The stimuli were based on the above four factors and were presented as an auditory perception test. Unlike Japanese speakers, the findings indicate that Taiwanese learners do not perceive closure duration categorically. Compared to the native Japanese speakers, the Taiwanese learners required a longer closure duration to correctly perceive a geminate stop, and they required a shorter closure duration to correctly perceive a single stop. Furthermore, even though the closure duration was a primary cue, the duration of the preceding vowel and the accentual type provided multiple cues for distinguishing geminate and singleton stops.
