The interaction of formant transition and release burst cues in perceiving the place of coda stops in different vowel contexts

This study investigates the perception of coda stops in different vowel contexts focusing on two perceptual cues: (i) the vowel-to-consonant (V-to-C) formant transition in the vocalic portion and (ii) the release burst of a coda stop. Two perceptual experiments tested native English listeners’ identification of the coda stops [p] [t] [k] in CVC syllables when the vowels are [i] or [ae]. The audio stimuli in the first experiment were CVC syllables without the release burst of coda stops and those in the second experiment were CVC syllables with conflicting V-to-C transitions vs. release bursts. The results showed (i) different accuracies in identifying the place of coda stops in different vowel contexts in the absence of release bursts and (ii) a more reliance on release burst than V-to-C transition when both cues are present. These suggested a delicate interaction of formation transition and release burst cues in perceiving the place of coda stops across different vowel contexts.