Allophonic variation and its consequences: A lexical decision study on words in German

German onsets allow a consonant cluster spelt <qu>, as in Qualm 'fume'. While it has been traditionally assumed that this orthographic form corresponds to a sequence of a plosive /k/ followed by a voiced fricative /v/, closer examination of the cluster demonstrates free variation between the consonant sequences of [kv], [kf] and [kʋ]. In each case, the second member of the cluster differs in terms of voicing (voiceless [f] vs. voiced [v ʋ]) or the manner of articulation (fricatives [f v] vs. approximant [ʋ]). Given that the three clusters are allophones of a single phoneme sequence, we tested whether any of the allophones facilitates word recognition, and if so, which one. On the basis of a lexical decision experiment, reaction times as well as correctness rates were analysed in relation to three variables; (a) cluster variants ([kv vs. kf vs. kʋ]), (b) word existence (real vs. nonce), and (c) the quality of the following vowel (front [i e] vs. back [a o]). The results of the study show systematic differences in the perception of real words and nonce words as well as in the perception of the three cluster variants. In particular, we report on the interactions between the factors studied.