Abstract
This study compares the time to initiate words with varying syllable structures (V, VC, CV, CVC, CCV, CCVC). In order to test the hypothesis that different syllable structures require different amounts of time to prepare their temporal controls, or plans, two delayed naming experiments were carried out. In the first of these the initiation time was determined from acoustic recordings. The results confirmed the hypothesis but also showed an interaction with the initial segment (i.e., vowel-initial words were initiated later than words beginning with consonants, but this difference was much smaller for words starting stops compared to /l/ or /s/). Adding a coda did not affect the initiation time. In order to rule out effects of segment-specific articulatory to acoustic interval differences, a second experiment was performed in which speech movements of the tongue, the jaw and the lips were recorded by means of electromagnetic articulography. Results from initiation time, based on articulatory measurements, showed a significant syllable structure effect with VC words being initiated significantly later than CV(C) words. Only minor effects of the initial segment were found. These results can be partly explained by the amount of accumulated experience a speaker has in coordinating the relevant gesture combinations and triggering them appropriately in time.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 374-389 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Phonetics |
Volume | 40 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2012 May |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Research was supported by NIH NIDCD DC008780 to Haskins Laboratories. Thanks to Manisha Kulshreshtha and Man Gao for assistance with running the experiments and analyzing the data.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Linguistics and Language
- Speech and Hearing