Perceptual features predict word frequency asymmetry across modalities.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Psycholinguistics
• Computational Linguistics

Background:

• Word frequency and perceptual features are key to understanding word production, recognition, and language change.
• Previous research has not extensively compared spoken versus written word frequencies, leaving modality-specific relationships unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if perceptual features predict frequency differences between spoken and written language.
• To determine if factors like word length, neighborhood density, and positional probability influence modality-specific word frequencies.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of word frequency data across spoken and written modalities.
• Statistical modeling to assess the predictive power of perceptual features on frequency asymmetry.
• Examination of modality-specific effects beyond differences in formality.

Main Results:

• Perceptual features such as length, neighborhood density, and positional probability significantly and differentially impact speech and writing frequencies.
• These modality-specific effects on word frequency are independent of language formality.
• Evidence suggests distinct processing constraints and communicative efficiency considerations for speech versus writing.

Conclusions:

• Perceptual features play a crucial role in shaping word frequencies differently in spoken versus written language.
• Findings challenge theories assuming perceptual equivalence for words of differing frequencies.
• Results argue against models that minimize the influence of perceptual features on word selection processes.