Some ecological constraints on the perception of stops and affricates

Abstract

Previous research has shown that for a disyllable like /εb dε/, a silent interval between the stop consonants is a necessary condition for the perception of the first, i.e., the syllable-final, stop. Even in the absence of a silent interval, however, the first stop remains intelligible if the first syllable is spoken by a male and the second by a female. Further experiments have confirmed and extended these results. Introducing a silent interval between the carrier phrase, “Now say …” and the word “shop” causes listeners to hear “chop.” If, however, the carrier phrase is spoken by a female, and “shop” by a male the perception of “shop” remains unchanged. Finally, when listeners hear stop consonant sequences produced by a single voice, but reproduced over two loudspeakers separated by 180°, (i.e., /eb/ over one speaker and /de/ over the other), the first syllable remains intelligible even in the absence of a silent interval between the stops. It is as if the listener knew that two vocal tracts, acting independently, can do what a single vocal tract cannot.