Acquisition of /s/-initial Clusters: A Parametric Approach

The special status of word-initial /s/-consonant clusters has long been observed by researchers: Some /s/-initial sequences, such as /s/-stop clusters, violate the Sonority Sequencing Principle. In English, /s/ is the only word-initial consonant that may be followed by another homorganic consonant (e.g. /st-/, /sn-/), by either a nasal or a stop (e.g. /sm-/, /sn-/, /sp-/), or by a two-element consonant cluster (e.g. /spr-/, /spl-/, /str-/). It has also been noted that /s/-initial clusters are treated differently from other onset clusters by speakers of different ages and different languages (e.g. Fikkert 1994, Romani & Calabrese 1998, Barlow 2001). Yet, the structural status of /s/-initial clusters is still controversial. In recent studies of the acquisition of /s/-initial clusters, the initial /s/ has been analyzed as an element outside the initial syllable, termed either “extrasyllabic” (Fikkert 1994), an “adjunct” (Gierut 1999, Barlow 2001), or an “appendix” (Goad & Rose in press). Gierut (1999) provides the following structural comparison of obstruent-sonorant clusters and /s/-initial clusters: