The role of onsets in perception of stop place of articulation: effects of spectral and temporal discontinuity.

Abstract

This study explored the role of onsets on the perception of place of articulation by investigating the effects of later-occurring transitions on the perceptual information residing in the onsets. In particular, the perceptual effects of spectral discontinuities introduced after the burst and early transition of stimulus onset were explored. Identification responses for place of articulation as well as judgment responses for quality and number of syllables were obtained for synthetic CV syllables in which two types of discontinuity were introduced by (1) inserting a silent interval between the stimulus onset (burst and following 3 glottal pulses) and remaining transition and steady-state information, and (2) replacing portions of the transitions and steady-state following the onset with a silent interval. Silent intervals ranged between 8.1 an 56.7 ms. All the stimuli were consistently identified, regardless of the duration of the silent interval or the type of discontinuity introduced. Subjects perceived a discontinuity when the silent interval was greater than 16 ms. These results support the view that the perceptual analysis of stop consonants may be defined in terms of temporally-defined window encompassing the burst and early transition information and further confirms the importance of such onsets as determinants of perception of place of articulation.