Speech Perception, Word Recognition and the Structure of the Lexicon

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Cognitive Science
• Speech Processing

Background:

• Auditory word recognition models like the Cohort Theory have been influential.
• The structure of the lexicon and word properties influence speech perception.
• Bridging speech perception and auditory word recognition requires integrating acoustic-phonetic and lexical knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally test predictions from the MACS simulation model of the Cohort Theory.
• To analyze lexical structure and word distribution effects on intelligibility.
• To develop a new theory, Phonetic Refinement Theory, for auditory word recognition.

Main Methods:

• Priming paradigm experiments to assess acoustic-phonetic activation.
• Lexical database analysis of word similarity spaces and neighborhood density.
• Integration of listener data with acoustic-phonetic and phonotactic knowledge.

Main Results:

• Evidence for acoustic-phonetic activation in word recognition was obtained.
• Lexical structure, specifically word neighborhood density, significantly affects word intelligibility in noise.
• Phonetic Refinement Theory was developed, incorporating listener knowledge of word structure.

Conclusions:

• Auditory word recognition involves dynamic acoustic-phonetic activation.
• Lexical organization and word properties are crucial for understanding speech perception.
• New theoretical frameworks can better explain how listeners process spoken words.