Spelling-to-sound translation for English disyllables: Use of long and short vowels before single medial consonants.

ABSTRACT: The English writing system is often seen as having rules that govern the choice between alternative pronunciations of letters but as having many exceptions to the rules. One postulated rule, the V̄|CV rule, is that a vowel is pronounced as long rather than short when it is followed by a single consonant letter plus a vowel letter. We find, in an analysis of English disyllabic words, that exceptions to the V̄|CV rule are not randomly scattered throughout the vocabulary. The use of long versus short vowels is systematically influenced by the identity of the vowel letter itself, the characteristics of the following consonant, and the identity of the word ending. In four studies with a total of 283 participants, we asked university students to pronounce disyllabic nonwords with medial vowel-co

SUBMITTER: Treiman R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11792082 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature