ERIC Number: EJ911952
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Jan
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
Planning and Articulation in Incremental Word Production: Syllable-Frequency Effects in English
Cholin, Joana; Dell, Gary S.; Levelt, Willem J. M.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v37 n1 p109-122 Jan 2011
We investigated the role of syllables during speech planning in English by measuring syllable-frequency effects. So far, syllable-frequency effects in English have not been reported. English has poorly defined syllable boundaries, and thus the syllable might not function as a prominent unit in English speech production. Speakers produced either monosyllabic (Experiment 1) or disyllabic (Experiment 2-4) pseudowords as quickly as possible in response to symbolic cues. Monosyllabic targets consisted of either high- or low-frequency syllables, whereas disyllabic items contained either a 1st or 2nd syllable that was frequency-manipulated. Significant syllable-frequency effects were found in all experiments. Whereas previous findings for disyllables in Dutch and Spanish--languages with relatively clear syllable boundaries--showed effects of a frequency manipulation on 1st but not 2nd syllables, in our study English speakers were sensitive to the frequency of both syllables. We interpret this sensitivity as an indication that the production of English has more extensive planning scopes at the interface of phonetic encoding and articulation. (Contains 14 tables and 4 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Syllables, English, Articulation (Speech), Language Processing, Speech, Planning, Undergraduate Students
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Illinois
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A