Effects of metrical structure on syllable timing II.

Abstract

Fourakis and Monahan [J. Linguist. (1988)] examined the effects of two different types of metrical foot (iamb and anapest) on syllable timing in 3 ft utterances. These utterances were comprised of three iambs, three anapests, and every possible combination of the two types. The present research follows the same paradigm but uses trochees and dactyls instead of iambs and anapests. A set of eight 3 ft long sentences was constructed. At one end there was the three trochee sentence: Auctions rescue business. At the other end was the three dactyl sentence: Auctions may rescue his businesses. The intermediate six sentences were formed by different combinations of the metrical feet. Five male and five female native speakers of Midwestern American English were recorded producing five repetitions of each sentence at a normal rate of speech. Segments were assigned syllable membership based on the maximum onset principle. Results will be presented on syllable durations as a function of foot type and sentence type. [Research supported by the University of Wisconsin Madison Graduate School.]