Syllabification of Intervocalic Consonant Clusters by English and Japanese Speakers

2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 14510637
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 言語学・音声学
• Research Institution: Kyoto Women's University, Junior College
• Principal Investigator: ISHIKAWA Keiichi Kyoto Women's University, Junior College, Associate Professor, 文学科, 助教授 (40259445)
• Project Period (FY): 2002 – 2004
• Keywords: syllabification / syllable / consonant clusters / segmentation / phonotactic legality / mora / vowel length / morphological information

Research Abstract

This study investigated how English and Japanese speakers syllabify intervocalic consonant clusters in two-syllable English words and nonwords. Japanese speakers who had been trained to recognize English syllables were also tested. In oral tasks participant inserted a pause between two parts of English words and nonwords. In written tasks they selected their preferred segmentation among three choices. Although the general pattern of syllabification was to separate the clusters, the preferred types of division differed across three groups, each type influenced by typical syllable shapes in their languages. At the same time, several phonological factors and morphological information affected the way words were divided. Phonotactic legality, vowel length, and morphological knowledge exerted cross-language influence on participants' responses, while stress position had an impact only on English speakers. The types of tasks (oral or written) and stimuli (real words or nonwords) also affected syllabification. The results are discussed in relation to linguistic and psycholinguistic theories or principles of syllabification.