Word juncture perception as a function of word-initial phonemes

Abstract

A previous study showed that allophonic variations in word-initial phonemes were the primary cues for word juncture perception. This study examined juncture perception as a function of the word-initial phonemes occurring singly and in clusters. Pairs of two-word phrases contrasting in juncture location (e.g., “he praises” and “heap raises”) and representing a wide variety of word-initial vowels, consonants and consonant clusters were recorded in sentence contexts by four talkers. The phrases were excised from the sentences and played to listeners who indicated which phrase they heard. Juncture perception was good for word-initial voiceless stops, vowels, affricates, and nasals, and fair for fricatives and voiced stops. Juncture perception was poor for liquids and semivowels, but good when they occurred in a consonant cluster. Juncture perception for clusters beginning with /s/ was better than for /s/ alone. Juncture perception was poor when the same consonant occurred before and after the juncture (e.g., “heap praises”); this suggests that segmental duration is not an important cue for juncture perception.