%0 Journal Article
%A Blum, Frederic
%+ CALC, Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
%T Word-initial lengthening of consonants in non-WEIRD languages : 
%G eng
%U https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-000F-EDB8-7
%R 10.1038/s41562-024-01989-3
%7 2024-09-30
%D 2024
%* Review method: peer-reviewed
%X We found that across a sample of 51 diverse languages, consonants at the beginning of words are on average 13 ms longer than their non-initial counterparts. Considering that this finding is robust across languages from all over the world, we argue that this effect helps to mark the boundaries of different words in the continuous stream of speech.
%K Language and linguistics,  Scientific community

%J Nature Human Behaviour
%V 8
%N 11
%& 2094
%P 2094 - 2095 
%I Nature Research
%C London
%@ 2397-3374