Effect of vowel environment on consonant duration: an extension of normative data to adult contextual speech

In this study, we investigated the effect of vowel environment on consonant duration in contextual speech produced by adults. Previous studies, such as Schwartz's published in 1969 and DiSimoni's in 1974, of vowel influence on consonant duration have supported the notion of anticipatory scanning in which final vowel targets influence the duration of preceding fricative consonants. These studies were based on repetitions of nonsense syllables by children and adults, but no research has been reported that extends these data to contextual speech or examines speaker gender differences. Forty adult normal speakers (20 women and 20 men) recorded palatal and alveolar fricatives produced in four vowel environments in words embedded in contextual sentences. Results indicated significant effects of vowel context on consonant duration in contextual speech and revealed anticipatory scanning effects that are similar to those seen with nonsense syllables in previous studies. These normative data can form the basis for comparison of the effects of temporal alterations produced by speaking conditions such as simultaneous communication.