Acoustic Features of Word-Medial Consonants in English

The purpose of this study was to provide specific insights into word-medial resyllabification by examining the phonetic features of English word-medial consonants based on the stress position and the preceding syllable structure. Fourteen native English speakers (7 males and 7 females) participated in this study. The acoustic cues measured and analyzed were the s-duration, s-center of gravity, C-closure duration, and C-voice onset time (VOT) in the contexts of /V(C)sV/ and /V(C)pV/. From this study, the following results were drawn. First, in /V(C)sV/, /s/ was shorter and its COG was lower when the preceding syllable of /s/ was open and stressed than when it was closed or unstressed. Second, in /V(C)pV/, the /p/ had shorter closure and significantly lower VOT values when the preceding syllable was open and stressed than when it was closed or unstressed. These results indicate that the word-medial onset consonant is resyllabified as a coda of the preceding syllable specifically when the preceding syllable is open and stressed. These findings support the notion that resyllabification in English can be accounted for by Selkirk's (1982) resyllabification theory.