Position in Word Effects Revisited in relation to Stress and Accent Effects

Temporal characteristics of Position in Word (PoW) effects in Spanish are investigated in relation to stress and accent. The results show that initial /s/ is lengthened word-initially but only when stress or accent is concomitantly active. This suggests that the PoW effect is conditioned by stress and accent (prominence effects), and the word boundary effect enhances onset durations when combined with the prominence effects. The result is interpreted to mean that the PoW effect in Spanish could better be characterized as enhanced stressed/accent effects benefited by boundary initial positions. This study provides an important insight of prosody interactions that can help us to understand the complex nature of prosodic effects.