Phonological variation in spoken word recognition: Episodes and abstractions
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Cynthia M Connine
Abstract
Phonological variation in spoken words is a ubiquitous aspect of spontaneous speech and presents a challenge for recognition of spoken words. We discuss two classes of models, abstract and episodic, that have been proposed for spoken word recognition. Abstract theories rely on inference processes and/or underspecified representations to account for spoken word recognition. Episodic theories assume a lexical representation that encodes each spoken word event with exposure frequency linked to strength of a lexical entry. A model is proposed that posits a frequency-driven phonological variant lexical representation. The model assumes that a word may have more than one variant representation and that exposure to phonological variant form influences the strength of a given variant representation. Evidence for the proposed model is reviewed for a number of variants (nasal flaps, schwa deletion and medial flaps).
© Walter de Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Introduction to the special issue on exemplar-based models in linguistics
- Statistically gradient generalizations for contrastive phonological features
- Phonological variation in spoken word recognition: Episodes and abstractions
- Exemplar models, evolution and language change
- Exemplar-learning and schematization in a usage-based account of syntactic acquisition
- Exemplar-based syntax: How to get productivity from examples
- Spoken syntax: The phonetics of giving a hand in New Zealand English
- From fush to feesh: Exemplar priming in speech perception
Articles in the same Issue
- Introduction to the special issue on exemplar-based models in linguistics
- Statistically gradient generalizations for contrastive phonological features
- Phonological variation in spoken word recognition: Episodes and abstractions
- Exemplar models, evolution and language change
- Exemplar-learning and schematization in a usage-based account of syntactic acquisition
- Exemplar-based syntax: How to get productivity from examples
- Spoken syntax: The phonetics of giving a hand in New Zealand English
- From fush to feesh: Exemplar priming in speech perception
