Abstract
Discrimination of labial and apical stops varying in voice onset time was assessed for monolingual speakers. The Kikuyu language distinguishes between stops in which voice onset substantially precedes release (prevoiced) and those in which voice onset is nearly simultaneous with release (voiced) for the apical place of articulation. However, the language has only a single prevoiced labial stop. Kikuyu speakers reliably discriminated prevoiced from voiced and voiced from voiceless labial stops in the absence of previous relevant linguistic exposure. It is argued that the psychoacoustic properties of voice onset time stimuli predict enhanced discrimination in certain regions of the stimulus continuum.
Published Version
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