Do speakers possess universal linguistic restrictions on the sound structure of their language? We examine this question by investigating the restrictions on onset clusters (e.g., bl in block). Cross-linguistic comparisons suggest that certain onset clusters are universally preferred: Onsets like bn are preferred to bd, which, in turn, are preferred to lb. In four experiments, we demonstrate that such preferences constrain onset identification by Spanish speakers: the worst formed the onset, the more likely its misidentification. Onset structure, however, determines not only the rate of disyllabic recoding but also its type. While better-formed onsets of rising sonority are repaired epenthetically (e.g., bnif→benif), worse-formed onsets are recoded prothetically (e.g., lbif→elbif), and the choice of repair (epenthesis vs. prothesis) is modulated by linguistic experience. These findings suggest that speakers possess broad linguistic restrictions that extend to structures unattested in their language, but the response to such putatively universal pressures is experience-dependent.
2013. The phonological mind. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 17:7 ► pp. 319 ff.
Berent, Iris
2016. Commentary: “An Evaluation of Universal Grammar and the Phonological Mind”—UG Is Still a Viable Hypothesis. Frontiers in Psychology 7
Berent, Iris
2017. On the Origins of Phonology. Current Directions in Psychological Science 26:2 ► pp. 132 ff.
Berent, Iris & Melanie Platt
2022. Is Phonology Embodied? Evidence from Mechanical Stimulation. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 51:3 ► pp. 597 ff.
Berent, Iris, Vered Vaknin-Nusbaum, Evan Balaban & Albert M. Galaburda
2013. Phonological generalizations in dyslexia: The phonological grammar may not be impaired. Cognitive Neuropsychology 30:5 ► pp. 285 ff.
Berent, Iris, Xu Zhao, Evan Balaban & Albert Galaburda
2016. Phonology and phonetics dissociate in dyslexia: evidence from adult English speakers. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience 31:9 ► pp. 1178 ff.
CARLSON, MATTHEW T.
2019. Now you hear it, now you don't: Malleable illusory vowel effects in Spanish–English bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 22:5 ► pp. 1101 ff.
CARLSON, MATTHEW T., MATTHEW GOLDRICK, MICHAEL BLASINGAME & ANGELA FINK
2016. Navigating conflicting phonotactic constraints in bilingual speech perception. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 19:5 ► pp. 939 ff.
Carlson, Matthew T. & Alexander McAllister
2019. I’ve heard that one before: Phonetic reduction in speech production as a possible contributing factor in perceptual illusory vowel effects. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 12:2 ► pp. 281 ff.
Jarosz, Gaja
2017. Defying the stimulus: acquisition of complex onsets in Polish. Phonology 34:2 ► pp. 269 ff.
2015. Sonority-related markedness drives the misperception of unattested onset clusters in French listeners. L’Année psychologique Vol. 115:2 ► pp. 197 ff.
2015. Sonority-related markedness drives the misperception of unattested onset clusters in French listeners. L’Année psychologique 115:02 ► pp. 197 ff.
Parker, Steve
2017. Sounding out Sonority. Language and Linguistics Compass 11:9
2020. Sonority as a Phonological Cue in Early Perception of Written Syllables in French. Frontiers in Psychology 11
Wilson, Colin, Lisa Davidson & Sean Martin
2014. Effects of acoustic–phonetic detail on cross-language speech production. Journal of Memory and Language 77 ► pp. 1 ff.
Zhao, Xu & Iris Berent
2016. Universal Restrictions on Syllable Structure: Evidence From Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 45:4 ► pp. 795 ff.
Zhao, Xu & Iris Berent
2018. The Basis of the Syllable Hierarchy: Articulatory Pressures or Universal Phonological Constraints?. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 47:1 ► pp. 29 ff.
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