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Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
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Phonemes: Lexical access and beyond.

Nina Kazanina1, Jeffrey S Bowers2, William Idsardi3

  • 1School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK. nina.kazanina@bristol.ac.uk.

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|September 7, 2017
PubMed
Summary

The phoneme hypothesis, though challenged, is defended by showing flaws in empirical interpretations and providing linguistic evidence. This research reaffirms the importance of phonemes (speech sound units) in understanding language perception.

Keywords:
Access codes to lexiconLexical accessLexical representationPhonemesPhonological formSpeech perceptionSpeech segmentationUnits of speech perception

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Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Speech Science

Background:

  • Phonemes are traditionally viewed as fundamental units of speech perception and lexical access.
  • Key phoneme properties include segment-size and abstract representation despite acoustic variability.
  • The phoneme hypothesis is currently a minority view, with challenges favoring alternative units like features or syllables.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To defend the phoneme hypothesis against contemporary challenges.
  • To re-evaluate empirical findings used to argue against phonemes.
  • To present linguistic evidence supporting the role of phonemes.

Main Methods:

  • Critically analyzing psycholinguistic studies on speech perception.
  • Examining the role of top-down constraints in modifying speech perception.
  • Conducting linguistic analyses of complex word forms and sentences.

Main Results:

  • Rejection of phonemes often stems from misinterpreting empirical data, particularly regarding acoustic invariance.
  • The lack of acoustic invariance for phonemes is resolved when considering top-down influences in speech perception.
  • Linguistic data, especially from complex structures, provides strong positive evidence for phonemes.

Conclusions:

  • The rejection of the phoneme hypothesis is based on flawed analysis and limited data scope.
  • Phonemes remain crucial units for understanding speech perception and linguistic structure.
  • A comprehensive view integrating psycholinguistic and linguistic evidence supports the phoneme hypothesis.