Keywords

native speakers, English, Syllabification

Abstract

4990 bi-syllabic English words were syllabified by about 22 native speakers who choose between different slash divisions (e.g. photon: FOW/TAHN, FOWT/AHN). Results of the regression analyses of the items with one medial consonant are discussed. Consistent with previous studies, consonants were drawn to stressed syllables, and more sonorant consonants were more often placed in the coda. A model in which syllables are made to be as word-like as possible is supported; syllables were often created that begin and end in the same phonemes that are legal word-initially and finally, and syllabifications tended to follow morpho-logical boundaries. Orthographic conventions, such as not placing ck or ll syllable-initially were also followed

Original Publication Citation

2013.“Syllabification of American English: Evidence from a Large-scale Experiment, part 1.” (with David Eddington and Rebecca Treiman). Journal of Quantitative Linguistics.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2013

Publisher

Routledge

Language

English

College

Humanities

Department

Linguistics

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

Included in

Linguistics Commons

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