Juan Segui

The syllable's role in speech segmentation

In this study a monitoring technique was employed to examine the role of the syllable in the perceptual segmentation of words. Pairs of words sharing the first three phonemes but having different syllabic structure (for instance, pa-lace and pal-mier) were used. The targets were the sequences composed of either the first two or three phonemes of the word (for instance, pa and pal). The results showed that reaction times to targets which correspond to the first syllable of the word were faster than those that did not, independently of the target size. In a second experiment, two target types, V and VC (for instance, a and al in the two target words above) were used with the same experimental list as in experiment one. Subjects detected the VC target type faster when it belonged to the first syllable than when it belonged to the first two syllables. No differences were observed for the V target type which was in the first syllable in both cases. On the basis of the reported results an interpretation in which the syllable is considered a processing unit in speech perception is advanced.

The Syllable's Differing Role in the Segmentation of French and English.

Speech segmentation procedures may differ in speakers of different languages. Earlier work based on French speakers listening to French words suggested that the syllable functions as a segmentation unit in speech processing. However, while French has relatively regular and clearly bounded syllables, other languages, such as English, do not. No trace of syllabifying segmentation was found in English listeners listening to English words, French words, or nonsense words. French listeners, however, showed evidence of syllabification even when they were listening to English words. We conclude that aiternative segmentation routines are available to the human language processor. In some cases speech segmentation may involve the operation of more than one procedure.

Priming word recognition with orthographic neighbors: effects of relative prime-target frequency.

Four lexical decision experiments were performed with an orthographic priming paradigm in which test words were preceded by orthographically related or unrelated prime words. When prime words were presented for 350 ms without a mask, it was observed that primes that are lower frequency orthographic neighbors of the target interfered with target processing relative to an unrelated condition. When primes were higher frequency neighbors of the target, no interference or facilitation was observed. On the other hand, with briefly presented masked primes, interference was observed with higher frequency prime words. Finally, facilitatory effects in masked repetition priming were obtained with both high- and low-frequency prime-target pairs. The results are interpreted in terms of activation and selection processes operating in visual word recognition.

Morphological priming without morphological relationship

Semantic transparency is a crucial factor in the processing of morphologically complex words, but seems to have a different impact depending on experimental conditions and languages. In English, semantic transparency is necessary to produce morphological priming in cross-modal priming, but not as clearly so in masked priming. The available reports of priming effects for opaque prime-target pairs are not as clear-cut as to rule out an explanation in terms of orthographic overlap. Experiment 1 was set out to clarify that issue in French. The novel notion of “pseudo-derivation” we introduce proved useful to show that surface morphology alone can produce priming effects in masked priming. In contrast, pure orthographic overlap produces marginal inhibition. Experiment 2 used auditory-visual cross-modal priming and showed that only semantically transparent words facilitate the recognition of their base.

On the role of competing word units in visual word recognition: The neighborhood frequency effect

Psychologie Expérimentale, 28 rue Serpente, 75006 Paris, France. Current models of word recognition generally assume that word units orthographically similar to a stimulus word are involved in the visual recognition of this word. We refer to this set of orthographically similar words as an orthographic neighborhood. Two experiments are presented that investigate the ways in which the composition of this neighborhood can affect word recognition. The data indicate that the presence in the neighborhood of at least one unit of higher frequency than the stimulus word itself results in interference in stimulus word processing. Lexical decision latencies (Experiment 1) and gaze durations (Experiment 2) to words with one neighbor of higher frequency were significantly longer than to words without a more frequent neighbor.

The monolingual nature of speech segmentation by bilinguals

Monolingual French speakers employ a syllable-based procedure in speech segmentation; monolingual English speakers use a stress-based segmentation procedure and do not use the syllable-based procedure. In the present study French-English bilinguals participated in segmentation experiments with English and French materials. Their results as a group did not simply mimic the performance of English monolinguals with English language materials and of French monolinguals with French language materials. Instead, the bilinguals formed two groups, defined by forced choice of a dominant language. Only the French-dominant groups showed syllabic segmentation and only with French language materials. The English-dominant group showed no syllabic segmentation in either language. However, the English-dominant group showed stress-based segmentation with English language materials; the French-dominant group did not. We argue that rhythmically based segmentation procedures are mutually exclusive, as a consequence of which speech segmentation by bilinguals is, in one respect at least, functionally monolingual.

Masked morphological priming in visual word recognition

Abstract Two experiments are reported that examine the effects of morphological overlap between prime and target in the masked priming paradigm. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the prior presentation of a higher frequency morphologically related word facilitates target processing. This facilitation obtained only to prefixed and not to suffixed targets and was independent of whether the prime was a stem or another prefixed form. In Experiment 2 morphological priming was estimated using both an unrelated and an orthographically related baseline. Approximately equivalent facilitation was observed for prefixed and suffixed primetarget pairs when measured against the orthographic control. The results suggest that the effects observed in masked morphological priming reflect the combination of both facilitatory and inhibitory mechanisms.

Neighborhood frequency effects in visual word recognition: A comparison of lexical decision and masked identification latencies

Recent research suggests that the time to recognize a visually presented word may be a function of the frequencies of orthographically similar words. More precisely, recognition latencies and errors appear to increase significantly as soon as the stimulus word is orthographically-similar to at least one other higher frequency word. This phenomenon, referred to as theneighborhood frequency effect, was subjected to further experimental testing, using a larger selection of words of varying frequency and length, and using a new experimental technique that proved to be extremely sensitive to such effects. The results provide additional support for earlier observations of neighborhood frequency effects. It is also demonstrated that clear word-frequency effects do obtain when neighborhood frequency is held constant. The results support activationbased accounts of the word-recognition process.

Predictors of picture naming speed.

We report the results of a large-scale picture naming experiment in which we evaluated the potential contribution of nine theoretically relevant factors to naming latencies. The experiment included a large number of items and a large sample of participants. In order to make this experiment as similar as possile to classic picture naming experiments, participants were familiarizedwith the materials during a training session. Speeded naming latencies were determined by a software key on the basis of the digital recording of the responses. The effects of various variables on these latencies were assessed with multiple regression techniques, using a repeated measures design. The interpretation of the observed effects is discussed in relation to previous studies and current views on lexical access during speech production.

Contrasting syllabic effects in Catalan and Spanish

The role of syllabic structure and stress assignment in the perceptual segmentation of Catalan and Spanish words is studied. Previous research suggested that the syllable is the segmentation unit for languages with clear syllabic structure. In Experiment I, we found that syllabification effects are found in Catalan but only in unstressed first syllable word-targets. No syllabification is obtained when the tirst syllable is stressed. In Experiment 2, we failed to find any syllabification effect in Spanish, regardless of stress in word-targets. Nonetheless, Experiment 3 shows that syllabification effects emerge in Spanish when subjects are made to respond to 250 ms slower than in Experiment 2. On the basis of these results, a modified version of the original syllabic hypothesis is proposed. We propose that both task demands and language specific parameters play a role in the presence or absence of syllabification effects in segment detection. 0 1992 Academic Press, 1~.