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Disfluencies signal theee, um, new information
Jennifer E Arnold1, Maria Fagnano, Michael K Tanenhaus
1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Meliora Hall 495, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA. jarnold@besrochester.edu
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research
|March 22, 2003
Summary
Speech disfluencies, like "uh," signal new information, influencing how listeners comprehend spoken language. This study shows disfluent speech directs attention to novel concepts, impacting language processing.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Science
- Speech Production and Comprehension
Background:
- Speakers frequently use disfluencies, such as pauses or repetitions.
- Disfluencies are more common when referring to discourse-new information compared to discourse-given information.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how speech disfluencies affect language comprehension.
- To determine if the correlation between disfluency and discourse status impacts how listeners process information.
Main Methods:
- An eyetracking experiment was conducted with subjects viewing scenes containing objects.
- Subjects followed spoken instructions to move objects, with instructions varying in fluency and referring to either discourse-given or discourse-new items.
- The study tracked initial fixations on objects to measure comprehension and attention.
Main Results:
- Fluent instructions led to more initial fixations on the discourse-given object.
- Disfluent instructions resulted in more initial fixations on the discourse-new object.
- This indicates that disfluency influences attentional focus during speech comprehension.
Conclusions:
- Speech disfluencies play a significant role in core language comprehension processes.
- Discourse-new information can be accessed and processed, even under conditions of disfluency.
- The findings suggest that disfluencies are not merely speech errors but carry communicative information.