Fig. 1

Example of experimental items. a Example of RB vs. LB ambiguity items used for recording; both of the pitcured items can be referred to as “akai hoshi no nekutai” in Japanese (“red star necktie” in English). RB prosodic cues: (1) No clear downstepping from the first phrase to the second phrase, followed by downstepping from the second phrase to the third phrase; (2) longer pause between the first and second phrases; and (3) longer final segment duration in the first phrase. LB prosodic cues: (1) clearer downstepping from the first phrase to the second phrase, followed by moving up of pitch from the second phrase to the third phrase; (2) longer pause between the second noun and its particle (“no”), inside the second phrase; and (3) longer final segment duration in the second phrase. In the figure, the lower height of a phrase means there is a clearer downstepping; a “U” shape mark means there is a longer pause; a “-” mark means there is a longer final segment. And the pitch-height is indicated by a vertical placement of the text-characters. b Example of material used in each listening comprehension experiment trial