Abstract
The cohort model of spoken word recognition postulates a maximally efficient uptake of acousticphonetic information during lexical access and selection. To test this, we used the gating paradigm in two experiments to measure the effects of anticipatory vowel coarticulation in word-final vowel-consonant transitions on the recognition of spoken words. In Experiment 1, we tested place contrasts between plosives and manner contrasts among plosives, nasals, and fricatives; we found a continuous effect of coarticulatory changes in vowel spectra on the process of lexical choice. In Experiment 2, we included word frequency as a variable and found that the effects of frequency operate independently of coarticulatory effects. These results are inconsistent with views of spoken word recognition that insist on discrete phoneme- or syllable-sized delays in the projection of acoustic-phonetic information onto form representations in the mental lexicon.
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This research was funded by a Medical Research Council programme grant.
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Warren, P., Marslen-Wilson, W. Continuous uptake of acoustic cues in spoken word recognition. Perception & Psychophysics 41, 262–275 (1987). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03208224
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03208224