Detecting reduced syllables: When lexical knowledge helps (and when it doesn’t)

In everyday conversations, speech often undergoes reduction, which can pose challenges for listeners, especially second-language (L2) listeners. While L2 listeners have been shown to have less accurate lexical representations, it remains unclear whether their difficulty in recognizing reduced words stems from challenges in detecting reduction itself. This study addressed this question using a syllable counting task with 60 participants (30 L1 and 30 L2 listeners). Target words were presented in either their full or reduced forms and were either real or pseudo words. Participants counted syllables while repeating each word syllable by syllable and indicated whether they knew the word. The syllable counting task was designed to encourage clear, slowed articulation, allowing raters to judge whether participants detected the reduced syllable (1 = detected, 0 = not detected). Results showed that L1 listeners were more accurate than L2 listeners in detecting reduced syllables, but only when the word was familiar or real. Near-chance-level accuracy was found for both groups when words were unfamiliar, though greater variability was observed among L2 listeners. These findingssuggest that reduced syllables in unfamiliar words are challenging for both L1 and L2 listeners, but L1 listeners benefit more from accurate lexical representations.