Within-category VOT affects recovery from “lexical” garden-paths: Evidence against phoneme-level inhibition

Bob McMurray; Michael K Tanenhaus; Richard N Aslin

doi:10.1016/j.jml.2008.07.002

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Within-category VOT affects recovery from “lexical” garden-paths: Evidence against phoneme-level inhibition

Journal article

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Within-category VOT affects recovery from “lexical” garden-paths: Evidence against phoneme-level inhibition

Bob McMurray, Michael K Tanenhaus and Richard N Aslin

Journal of memory and language, Vol.60(1), pp.65-91

2009

DOI: 10.1016/j.jml.2008.07.002

PMCID: PMC2630474

PMID: 20046217

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/2630474View

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Abstract

Spoken word recognition shows gradient sensitivity to within-category voice onset time (VOT), as predicted by several current models of spoken word recognition, including TRACE (McClelland, J., & Elman, J. (1986). The TRACE model of speech perception. Cognitive Psychology, 18, 1–86). It remains unclear, however, whether this sensitivity is short-lived or whether it persists over multiple syllables. VOT continua were synthesized for pairs of words like barricade and parakeet, which differ in the voicing of their initial phoneme, but otherwise overlap for at least four phonemes, creating an opportunity for “lexical garden-paths” when listeners encounter the phonemic information consistent with only one member of the pair. Simulations established that phoneme-level inhibition in TRACE eliminates sensitivity to VOT too rapidly to influence recovery. However, in two Visual World experiments, look-contingent and response-contingent analyses demonstrated effects of word initial VOT on lexical garden-path recovery. These results are inconsistent with inhibition at the phoneme level and support models of spoken word recognition in which sub-phonetic detail is preserved throughout the processing system.

Lexical ambiguity

TRACE model of word recognition

Gradiency

Spoken word recognition

Attractor dynamics

Eye movements

Phoneme categorization

Mismatch

Speech perception

Details

Title: Subtitle: Within-category VOT affects recovery from “lexical” garden-paths: Evidence against phoneme-level inhibition
Creators: Bob McMurray - Department of Psychology, E11 SSH, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52240, USA
Michael K Tanenhaus - Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, USA
Richard N Aslin - Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of memory and language, Vol.60(1), pp.65-91
DOI: 10.1016/j.jml.2008.07.002
PMID: 20046217
PMCID: PMC2630474
NLM abbreviation: J Mem Lang
ISSN: 0749-596X
eISSN: 1096-0821
Publisher: Elsevier Inc
Language: English
Date published: 2009
Academic Unit: Communication Sciences and Disorders; Linguistics; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Otolaryngology
Record Identifier: 9984070773502771

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