Duration of the Japanese 'sokuon' and 'haneruon' in Korean and Japanese pronunciation

촉음과 발음에 관한 한국인과 일본인의 지속시간 연구

The aim of this paper is to measure the duration of Japanese 'sokuon' [t/k] and 'haneron' [m/n] pronounced by Korean and Japanese. It is revealed in this study that gemination of the Japanese 'sokuon' in Korean pronunciation lasts 1.5 times longer than a single consonant, whereas it lasts 2 times longer in Japanese pronunciation. The difference between Korean and Japanese seems to show the difficulty of perceiving and learning a foreign rhythmic pattern non-existent in the leaner's language. The gemination of [s] phoneme lasts 2 times as long as a single consonant in both Korean and Japanese pronunciation. On average, the duration of Japanese 'sokuon' [t/k/s] is 1.7 times longer than a single consonant in Korean pronunciation, whereas 2 times longer in Japanese pronunciation. The pronunciation of Japanese 'haneruon' by either Korean or Japanese produces a similar result: 1) gemination lasts longer than a single consonant, 2) the duration of the single [m] is longer than that of the single [n]; 3) gemination of [n] is 3 times as long as a single [n], whereas gemination of [m] is 2 times as long as a single [m].