The categorical nature of speech perception may
result in learning difficulties when L2 speech sounds
overlap with L1 sound areas. In addition to possible
learning difficulties, it may create interesting
overlapping phoneme category areas between the
bilinguals’ two native languages. Here, we tested how
language learners, simultaneous bilinguals and
monolinguals perceive the same rounded closed /y/-
/ʉ/-/u/ vowel area. In learners and bilinguals this area
is divided either into two or three categories in their
two languages (Finnish and Swedish, respectively),
whereas only the three category division is in use in
the monolinguals (Swedish). It seems that second
language learners’ learning process is still ongoing
since their /ʉ/–/u/ boundary was less sharp in vowel
identification than the other two groups’. On the other
hand, both learners and bilinguals seem to benefit
from being language oriented and from using two
languages in their daily lives as they were more
sensitive discriminators than the monolinguals.