Speech-sound duration processing in a second language is specific to phonetic categories

The mismatch negativity (MMN) component of the auditory event-related potential was used to determine the effect of native language, Russian, on the processing of speech-sound duration in a second language, Finnish, that uses duration as a cue for phonological distinction. The native-language effect was compared with Finnish vowels that either can or cannot be categorized using the Russian phonological system. The results showed that the duration-change MMN for the Finnish sounds that could be categorized through Russian was reduced in comparison with that for the Finnish sounds having no Russian equivalent. In the Finnish sounds that can be mapped through the Russian phonological system, the facilitation of the duration processing may be inhibited by the native Russian language. However, for the sounds that have no Russian equivalent, new vowel categories independent of the native Russian language have apparently been established, enabling a native-like duration processing of Finnish. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.