On the Position of /s/ in Slovak Consonant Clusters: an Acoustic and Perceptual Analysis

Abstract

The paper presents the results of research aimed at the acoustic and
perceptual analysis of onset and coda clusters from standard Slovak that
violate the principle of sonority. The research is based on Engstrand
and Ericsdotter’s (1999) claim that clusters violating sonority are
perceptually advantageous over those that follow the sonority principle.
The analysis was carried out on a sample of test nonsense words with
the initial combinations /sp, st, sk/ and final combinations /ps, ts, ks/.
The data were produced and evaluated by native Slovak language
speakers. The results of the research support the assumption about the
perceptual advantage of clusters that are not in accordance with
sonority.