Design of the sentence materials
Key to symbols
used in sentence design tables
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Keywords
The recorded sentences are designed around sixteen different test
syllables, each spoken in three different lexical contexts:
monosyllable, disyllable and trisyllable. The word containing the test
syllable is referred to as the ``keyword''. The three keywords for
each test syllable are referred to as ``keyword triads''. There are
eight keyword triads in which the test syllable is always
word-initial, the ``left-headed'' keywords, and eight in which the
test syllable is always word-final, the ``right-headed'' keywords.
The full set of right-headed keywords is shown in Table 1 and the full
set of left-headed keywords is shown in Table 2.
The syllables immediately adjacent to the test syllable are
unstressed, to control stress-adjacent lengthening,
and are identical in the disyllables and trisyllables in each keyword
triad, to minimise any effect of local phonetic variation on test
syllable duration. Stress and phonetic environment are also controlled
in the carrier sentence.
Table 1: Right-headed keywords used in the recordings
Note: Transcriptions are given for Standard Southern
British English. Unlike American English, juice and the final
syllable of produce and reproduce are homophonous,
and pronounced as shown.
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Table 2: Left-headed keywords used in the recordings
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Carrier sentences
For the recordings, the keywords are placed in sentences designed
to be read as meaningful utterances, with a full normal prosodic
realisation. At the same time, the length of the utterances and the
immediate environment of the test syllables is controlled. The full
design of the experimental materials is shown schematically in Table 2
for right-headed keywords. The design of the materials for left-headed
keywords is the mirror-image of the syllable configurations shown.
The design shown in Table 3 systematically varies word length and utterance length. Where the test
syllable is utterance-medial, these factors are varied both
independently and concurrently. Where the test syllable is close to
the utterance edge, utterance length covaries with word length and
varies whilst word length is fixed.
Table 3: Schematic
representation of the keywords and carrier sentences
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Example sentences illustrate the five
series of test syllable environments resulting from this design (see
EXAMPLES page).