LINGUIST List 3.723

Thu 24 Sep 1992

Qs: Syllabry, Lenneberg, Phonetics

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1. Keri Rene Riener, syllabary
2. William J. Rapaport, Lenneberg reference still needed
3. , Query: Experimental Phonetics vs. "Ear" Phonetics

In a recent issue of _Language and Speech_ [1991, 34(2), 109-143], Chalikia
and Warren report that when listeners are presented with recycling sequences of
brief steady-state vowels they report hearing verbal forms. It is further
suggested that "...the verbal forms heard not only followed the phonotactic
rules of English, but also corresponded to syllables actually found in English"
(p. 109).

Is anyone aware of an English syllabary (hardbound or computer based),i.e.
a list of syllables actually found in the English language? Any information
would be greatly appreciated.

Please send information directly to: kericsd4.csd.uwm.edu

Thanks,

Keri Riener

[Back in June, I submitted the following query, but got no replies;
 perhaps people were on vacation. I'd like to try again.]

I have a reference to an article by Lenneberg describing an experiment
in which high school students were given Sarah the chimp's symbols to
manipulate:

E. Lenneberg, "Neuropsychological Comparison between Man, Chimpanzee, and
Monkey," Neuropsychologia 13 (1975) 125.

Yet my library tells me that neither author nor title are in the index to
Vol. 13.

Can someone please give me a correct reference? Thanks.

			William J. Rapaport
			Associate Professor of Computer Science
			and
			Center for Cognitive Science

Dept. of Computer Science||internet: rapaportcs.buffalo.edu
SUNY Buffalo		 ||bitnet: rapaportsunybcs.bitnet
Buffalo, NY 14260	 ||uucp: {rutgers,uunet}!cs.buffalo.edu!rapaport
(716) 636-3193, 3180 ||fax: (716) 636-3464

There are many examples, I believe, where what even the best
"ear" phoneticians systematically mishear what is actually
uttered. An example might be the fricative pronunciations
of English /k/ and /g/ in intervocalic position. I would
be interested in any references that people to have to
published work on this subject (since I have few if any).