Temporal configurations of Czech stress-group in connection with its phonotactic structure

The main objective of this thesis is to explore the relationships between the phonotactic structure of the Czech stress-group and the rhythm of speech. Three most frequent consonantal-vocalic structures of Czech two-syllable stress-groups were selected for the purposes of this thesis: CVCV, CVCCV and CVCCV. In an auditory experiment, which contained the comparison of two stress-groups or the comparison of a stress-group and a low-frequency shadow of a stress-group, the respondents established how similar the rhythm of each couple of stress-groups sounded. The results indicate that the position of a consonantal cluster within the stress-group is the strongest phonotactic factor in perception of the rhythmic similarity. The number of consonants within a consonantal cluster and the presence of a long vowel in both stress- groups were considered weaker factors for perceiving the rhythmic similarity by the respondents. Possibilities for a follow-up research were proposed for the factors that did not reach statistical significance, i.e., the difference in sonority or voicing of consonants. Keywords: speech rhythm, stress-group, phonotactics, consonantal-vocalic structure, Czec