英語を母語とする日本語学習者における日本語促音の誤聴 : アクセントと単語内の位置に着目して

This research investigated tendencies on how native English speakers perceive geminate consonants in words with 3 syllables (4 morae). It focused on finding out whether misperceptions in accented syllable position, and geminate consonant's syllable location bore significant differences. The result of an auditory experiment was analyzed in two different ways. The first analysis was based on the following mora misperception error tendencies: 1) heavy syllable perceived as light syllable, 2) heavy syllable accurately perceived but as a long vowel, 3) misperception of the position of heavy syllable, and 4) misperception of the position of the heavy syllable and the geminate consonant as a long vowel. The second analysis focused on syllable unit perception, thus errors were divided into two groups, namely, "syllable length misperceived" and "heavy syllable detected". The results indicate that when the 2nd syllable is accented, learners significantly perceived a heavy syllable than a light syllable. Furthermore, there was a significant difference depending on the location of the geminate consonant. When it is in the 1st syllable, learners tend to fail in perceiving the length of the heavy syllable thus perceiving it as a light syllable. However, when it is in the 2nd syllable, they accurately perceived the heavy syllable length, but failed to discriminate the kind of special mora or the location of the heavy syllable. Through this, it could be said that learners' perception of L2 rhythm is influenced by their L1. The findings in this study can serve as a guide for teachers when giving a practice to learners that emphasizes special morae and geminate position.