1. Phonological Processing
When to Americans flap /t/?
It needs to be between vowels or after an r or l
city, altar, faculty, atom, auto
not
interior, atrium, attract, tense

2. Phonological Processing
When to Americans flap /t/?
It needs to be between vowels or after an r or l
city, altar, faculty, atom, auto
not
interior, atrium, attract, tense
It needs to be followed by a stressless syllable
city, altar, faculty, atom
attack, atonement

3. Phonological Processing
Stress predicts 98% of cases

4. Phonological Processing
Experiment
Which sounds more natural to you?
['dəɾejs] or ['dəthejs]
[də'thejs] or [də'ɾejs]

5. Phonological Processing
Experiment
Which sounds more natural to you?
['dəɾejs] or ['dəthejs]
[də'thejs] or [də'ɾejs]
People favored flaps when followed by an unstressed syllable
People favored /t/ when followed by a stressed styllable

6. Phonological Processing
When to Americans flap /t/?
What about syllable structure?
Theory 1: flaps occur in the onset
ci.ty, a.tom

7. Phonological Processing
When to Americans flap /t/?
What about syllable structure?
Theory 1: flaps occur in the onset
ci.ty, a.tom
Theory 2: flaps occur in the coda
cit.y, at. om

8. Phonological Processing
When to Americans flap /t/?
What about syllable structure?
Theory 1: flaps occur in the onset
ci.ty, a.tom
Theory 2: flaps occur in the coda
cit.y, at. om
Theory 3: flaps are ambisyllabic
(ci(t)y), (a(t)om)

9. Phonological Processing
When to Americans flap /t/?
What about syllable structure?
Theory 1: flaps occur in the onset
ci.ty, a.tom
Theory 2: flaps occur in the coda
cit.y, at. om
Theory 3: flaps are ambisyllabic
(ci(t)y), (a(t)om)
How could you prove one or the other?

10. Phonological Processing
Experiment: how do you divide words?
photon
___ FOW / TAHN
___ FOWT / AHN
___ I’m not sure

11. Phonological Processing
Experiment: how do you divide words?
photon
___ FOW / TAHN
___ FOWT / AHN
___ I’m not sure
(This can't test ambisyllabicity)

12. Phonological Processing
Experiment: What influences the syllabification of /t/ into the onset?
stress?

13. Phonological Processing
Experiment: What influences the syllabification of /t/ into the onset?
stress? No
a.ttáck no likelier than á.ttic

14. Phonological Processing
Experiment: What influences the syllabification of /t/ into the onset?
vowel quality?

15. Phonological Processing
Experiment: What influences the syllabification of /t/ into the onset?
vowel quality? Not by itself

16. Phonological Processing
Experiment: What influences the syllabification of /t/ into the onset?
vowel quality by pronunciation of /t/?

17. Phonological Processing
Experiment: What influences the syllabification of /t/ into the onset?
vowel quality by pronunciation of /t/? Yes
People put words with [th] pronunciation in onset
when lax vowel preceded it
a.ttach
sa.tire
and when tense vowel preceded it
pho.ton

18. Phonological Processing
Experiment: What influences the syllabification of /t/ into the onset?
vowel quality by pronunciation of /t/? Yes
But, people put words with flap pronunciation in the coda when lax vowel preceded it:
att.ic
flutt.er
and in the onset when a tense vowel preceded it:
suit.or
teet.er

19. Phonological Processing
Experiment: What influences the syllabification of /t/ into the onset?
vowel quality by pronunciation of /t/? Yes
But, people put words with flap pronunciation in the coda when lax vowel preceded it:
att.ic
flutt.er
and in the onset when a tense vowel preceded it:
suit.or
teet.er
So flaps occur in both the coda and the onset
How does that fit with theory that flaps are conditioned by being in onset or coda?

20. Phonological Processing
Does ambisyllabicity condition flaps?
Experiment:
What is the first part of city: ci or cit?
What is the second part of city: y or ty?

21. Phonological Processing
Does ambisyllabicity condition flaps?
Experiment:
What is the first part of city: ci or cit?
What is the second part of city: y or ty?
Ambisyllabicity if first part is cit and second is ty.

22. Phonological Processing
Does ambisyllabicity condition flaps?
Experiment:
What is the first part of city: ci or cit?
What is the second part of city: y or ty?
Ambisyllabicity if first part is cit and second is ty.
Words with [th] had it mainly in the onset
first part of attack is a-
second part of attack is -ttack

23. Phonological Processing
Does ambisyllabicity condition flaps?
Experiment:
What is the first part of city: ci or cit?
What is the second part of city: y or ty?
Ambisyllabicity if first part is cit and second is ty.
Words with flap had it in onset, coda, ambisyllabic. All over the place

24. Phonological Processing
Does ambisyllabicity condition flaps?
Experiment:
What is the first part of city: ci or cit?
What is the second part of city: y or ty?
Ambisyllabicity if first part is cit and second is ty.
Words with flap had it in onset, coda, ambisyllabic. All over the place
So, ambisyllabicity (or onset or coda) is not consistently associated with flaps and therefore, can't condition them