| Summary: | Across languages, certain syllable types (e.g., black) are systematically preferred to others (e.g., lback). Specifically, syllables like blif are preferred to bnif, which, in turn, are preferred to bdif; least preferred are syllables like lbif. Such preferences have been documented experimentally among speakers of English, Korean, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Mandarin, even when none of these syllable types exists in their language. Previous research demonstrated that these
preferences are unlikely due to the auditory/phonetic demands of auditory materials, as they obtain even when items are presented in print. However, it remains possible that they might be informed by articulatory demands.
|
|---|
