How are syllables used to recognize words?

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Abstract
Our subjects were instructed to push a response button as quickly as possible whenever they detected a mispronounced word in a story. Mispronunciations were produced by changing a syllable‐initial /p/ or /k/ to its voiced counterpart (/b/ or /g/). The syllable stress and syllable position (first versus second) of the mispronunciation were varied in a 2×2 design. As expected on acoustic grounds, mispronunciations were detected more often in stressed than unstressed syllables. However, reaction times to mispronunciations in both stressed and unstressed syllables were about 200‐ms faster in the second syllable of a word. The finding of faster reaction times to second syllables is consistent with the assumption that words are accessed from the sounds which begin them.

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