Illusory Double Epenthesis in the [s_V] Context among Japanese Listeners: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Previous studies showed that English listeners tend to hear an [s_V] segment with [_] a silent gap as [sCV], where [C] is an epenthetic stop consonant such as [t]. The present study found that Japanese listeners, whose native language disallows [CCV] but allows [CVCV], often perceive [s_V] as [sVCV]. It is suggested that such illusory double-epenthetic percepts are generated via a two-step process, i.e., the vowel of [s_V] triggers an epenthetic consonant before it, and the initial consonant [s] and the newly generated epenthetic consonant [C] sequentially aligned induce a vowel epenthesis [V] between them.