Phonetic factors influencing /l/-rhoticisation in Greek

Abstract

This study investigates phonetic factors – vocalic/consonantal context, duration, stress - favouring rhotic perception of the lateral approximant in Greek. Nonsense words containing the lateral in different lengths in both intervocalic and internal coda position, alongside similar words containing a rhotic, were presented to Greek listeners for categorisation as /l/ or /r/. Results showed that laterals were perceived as rhotics if they matched the rhotic in duration. Rhotics, on the other hand, were only perceived as laterals if they were articulated as an approximant rather than as a tap.