It is easier to learn the meaning of forms with a canonical stress pattern

Generative linguistics is predicated on a conceptual distinction between the lexicon and the grammar. However in practice, lexical and grammatical acquisition are interdependent: phonotactics are projected in part from the lexicon [17], while the underlying form of a morpheme depends on the pattern of contrast and neutralization determined by the grammar [25]. This paper demonstrates a causative effect of phonotactic knowledge on wordlearning. Stress position is contrastive in English, but trochees are statistically predominant in the lexicon. This study asks whether it is easier to learn novel trochaic words than iambic ones. It was found that novel trochaic and iambic forms are remembered equally well, but the form-meaning association was better learned for trochees.