ISCA Archive SpeechProsody 2024
ISCA Archive SpeechProsody 2024

Morphology renders homophonous segments phonetically different: Word-final /s/ in German

Dominic Schmitz, Dinah Baer-Henney

Recent research challenges established models of speech production by revealing unexpected phonetic differences in phonologically identical elements induced by morphological structure. While established models assume that morphology does not play a role in later production stages (Kiparsky, 1982; Roelofs & Ferreira, 2019), it has been shown that English word-final /s/ duration is longest in non-morphemic contexts, shorter with suffixes, and shortest in clitics (Plag et al., 2017; Schmitz et al., 2021). Subsequent research found that such differences are not only produced but also perceived by listeners and able to influence comprehension (Schmitz, 2022). Recently, Baer-Henney & Schmitz (2023) investigated if German speakers could use subphonemic durational cues to acquire the morphological categories singular (short word-final /f/) and plural (long word-final /f/) in an artificial language. However, the study revealed subphonemic cues were insufficient. Building on English findings, the present production study examines subphonemic durational differences in German word-final /s/. Preliminary results (20 speakers, 800 data points) show significant differences between non-morphemic and plural /s/ duration (p<0.001; Cohen’s d=0.3). The findings challenge established models, suggest that Baer-Henney & Schmitz’s (2023) null-results were due to the reversed direction of durational cues used, and indicate morphological influences on speech production extend beyond English.