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The syllable's role in word naming
L Ferrand1, J Segui, G W Humphreys
1C.N.R.S., Paris, France. ferrandl@idf.ext.jussieu.fr
Memory & Cognition
|July 1, 1997
Summary
The syllable is a unit in English speech production, influencing word naming for clear syllable structures but not ambiguous ones. This finding supports models of speech encoding.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Speech Production
- Phonology
Background:
- The role of linguistic units, such as syllables, in speech production is a key area of psycholinguistic research.
- Understanding how speakers segment and process language is crucial for models of language production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the syllable as a functional unit in the production of English words.
- To examine whether syllable priming effects differ based on syllable boundary clarity and task type.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the masked priming paradigm with very brief prime exposures.
- Employed word naming and lexical decision tasks.
- Analyzed naming latencies and priming effects for words with clear and ambisyllabic initial boundaries.
Main Results:
- Syllable priming effects were observed for words with clear initial syllable boundaries in naming tasks.
- No syllable priming effects were found for ambisyllabic words or in lexical decision tasks.
- Priming effects were specific to the first syllable and not attributable to phonological or orthographic overlap.
Conclusions:
- The findings demonstrate that the syllable functions as a unit in English speech production.
- Results align with and provide support for existing models of phonological and phonetic encoding in speech production.