The acquisition of temporal categorical perception by Japanese second language learners

This study reports research into the development of perception of special mora categories by Korean learners of Japanese as a second language. First, a test which measured boundary width and the boundary point of distinction between singletons and special mora was used to establish participants’ categorical perception across four levels of proficiency. Then a two year longitudinal study followed the development of 14 learners, during which time the same test was administered three times. The results demonstrated: 1) that the special mora perceptual categories of second language learners developed in some areas, but not in others and 2) that there was a categorization of the special mora over time.