Phonetics and Phonology (ENG)
VU sounds that occur in a contrasting set (e.g., vowels in stressed-monosyllabic
words beat, bit, bet, and bat. This principle of perceptual separation does not usually result into one sound affecting an adjacent sound as explained in the principle of maximum ease of articulation. Instead, perceptual separation affects the set of sounds that potentially can occur
at a given position in a word, such as in the position that must be occupied by a vowel in a stressed
monosyllable as in words beat, bit, bet, bat so that the perceptual separation is maximized. The principle of maximum perceptual separation also accounts for some of the differences between languages. All these examples illustrate how languages maintain a balance between the requirements of the speaker and those of the listener.
On the one hand, there is the pressure to make changes that would result in easier articulations from a speaker’s
point of view and, then, from the listener’s point of view that there should be sufficient perceptual contrast between sounds that affect the meaning of an utterance.
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