Effects of first-element phonological-length and etymological-type features on sequential voicing (rendaku) of second elements

Abstract

Using a questionnaire comprising voiced-or-voiceless choices by native Japanese speakers, the present study investigated the influence of the phonological-length and etymological-type of first elements on sequential voicing or rendaku of the initial consonant of the CVCVCV-structured Wago-like nonwords /hukari/ and /hasuri/. Experiment 1 revealed an overall trend where voicing determination (i.e., voicing power) from one mora to three morae was observed to have a descending order of strength. After controlling for printed-frequency, script type, and free-standing single kanji, Experiment 2 showed that single-mora Wago first-elements had stronger voicing power on second elements than those consisting of two and three morae. Considering the combined results of Experiments 1 and 2, it may be concluded that a single CV mora Wago of first elements had greater voicing power than two or three morae cases. Experiment 3 demonstrated that first element Wago exerted stronger voicing power upon second elements than either Kango or Gairaigo, which exerted equally influence. However, after controlling for printed-frequency and script type, Experiment 4 indicated that the first element Wago and Kango resulted in rendaku on second elements with greater voicing power than Gairaigo. Thus, the present study demonstrated that both the first-element phonological-length and etymological-type appear to influence rendaku of the voiceless consonants of second elements.