Cascading activation in phonological planning and articulation: Evidence from spontaneous speech errors

122 Norwegian speech errors occurring in spontaneous speech have been analysed in the light of models of speech performance. Methods and problems in connection with data collection are discussed.

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The representation of phonological information during speech production planning:evidence from vowel errors in spontaneous speech

Phonology Yearbook ◽

10.1017/s0952675700000609 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. 117-149 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

John J. Ohala ◽

Stefanie Shattuck-Hufnagel

Keyword(s):

Speech Production ◽

Distinctive Feature ◽

Spontaneous Speech ◽

Lexical Stress ◽

Speech Errors ◽

Phonological Information ◽

Error Patterns ◽

Feature Similarity

ABSTRACTA corpus of more than 500 speech errors that involve a vowel or syllabic nucleus is examined for evidence that bears on the nature of the processing representation that is in force when such errors occur. Evidence is obtained from the patterns of similarity between target segments and the intrusion segments that replace them in errors, on the assumption that target– intrusion similarity arises from characteristics of the processing representation. Findings include (1) a distinctive feature similarity between vowel targets and intrusions, (2) evidence that complex syllabic nuclei can function as error units and (3) evidence that vowel errors are constrained by lexical stress. Finally, the error patterns in both vowels and consonants, and the processing representations they suggest, are evaluated in the light of recent theoretical proposals about the phonological component of the grammar.

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Contemporary Reactions to Rudolf Meringer’s Speech Error Research

Historiographia Linguistica ◽

10.1075/hl.6.1.05cut ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 57-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Anne Cutler

Keyword(s):

Theoretical Analysis ◽

Research Methods ◽

Experimental Psychology ◽

Theoretical Orientation ◽

Spontaneous Speech ◽

Speech Errors ◽

Observational Method ◽

Large Collection ◽

Speech Error ◽

Analysis Of Error

Summary Rudolf Meringer (1859–1931) published two large collections of speech errors, in 1895 and 1908. Although the idea that errors in spontaneous speech might be of linguistic interest did not originate with Meringer, he was the first to produce a large collection of error data and a detailed theoretical analysis of error phenomena. Contemporary reaction to Meringer’s two speech error books is analysed in this essay. Firstly, direct comment at the time, which ranged from enthusiastic praise to dismissal of the project as trivial and uninteresting, is analysed; dismissive reactions, it is seen, came from those who were in any case Meringer’s opponents on broader issues of theoretical orientation. The following section deals with the correctness of Meringer’s analysis of error phenomena, which met its chief challenge at the time from Sigmund Freud’s contention that speech errors were interesting for reasons not of linguistics but of individual psychopathology. Thirdly, Meringer’s devotion to the observational method is described; this led him into a controversy with contemporaries who preferred the research methods of experimental psychology.

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Effects of Gender, Parental Role, and Time on Infant- and Adult-Directed Read and Spontaneous Speech

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2019_jslhr-s-19-0047 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 62 (11) ◽

pp. 4001-4014

Author(s):

Melanie Weirich ◽

Adrian Simpson

Keyword(s):

Parental Involvement ◽

Gender Identity ◽

Spontaneous Speech ◽

First Year ◽

Space Size ◽

Vowel Space ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Phonetic Features ◽

And Gender ◽

Description Task

Purpose The study sets out to investigate inter- and intraspeaker variation in German infant-directed speech (IDS) and considers the potential impact that the factors gender, parental involvement, and speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech) may have. In addition, we analyze data from 3 time points prior to and after the birth of the child to examine potential changes in the features of IDS and, particularly also, of adult-directed speech (ADS). Here, the gender identity of a speaker is considered as an additional factor. Method IDS and ADS data from 34 participants (15 mothers, 19 fathers) is gathered by means of a reading and a picture description task. For IDS, 2 recordings were made when the baby was approximately 6 and 9 months old, respectively. For ADS, an additional recording was made before the baby was born. Phonetic analyses comprise mean fundamental frequency (f0), variation in f0, the 1st 2 formants measured in /i: ɛ a u:/, and the vowel space size. Moreover, social and behavioral data were gathered regarding parental involvement and gender identity. Results German IDS is characterized by an increase in mean f0, a larger variation in f0, vowel- and formant-specific differences, and a larger acoustic vowel space. No effect of gender or parental involvement was found. Also, the phonetic features of IDS were found in both spontaneous and read speech. Regarding ADS, changes in vowel space size in some of the fathers and in mean f0 in mothers were found. Conclusion Phonetic features of German IDS are robust with respect to the factors gender, parental involvement, speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech), and time. Some phonetic features of ADS changed within the child's first year depending on gender and parental involvement/gender identity. Thus, further research on IDS needs to address also potential changes in ADS.

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Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Naturalness in Speakers of Varying Gender Identities

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2020_jslhr-19-00337 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (7) ◽

pp. 2054-2069

Author(s):

Brandon Merritt ◽

Tessa Bent

Keyword(s):

Spontaneous Speech ◽

Identification Accuracy ◽

Rating Task ◽

Gender Identification ◽

Identification Task ◽

Male And Female ◽

Perceptual Evaluation ◽

Speech Training ◽

And Gender ◽

Speech Naturalness

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate how speech naturalness relates to masculinity–femininity and gender identification (accuracy and reaction time) for cisgender male and female speakers as well as transmasculine and transfeminine speakers. Method Stimuli included spontaneous speech samples from 20 speakers who are transgender (10 transmasculine and 10 transfeminine) and 20 speakers who are cisgender (10 male and 10 female). Fifty-two listeners completed three tasks: a two-alternative forced-choice gender identification task, a speech naturalness rating task, and a masculinity/femininity rating task. Results Transfeminine and transmasculine speakers were rated as significantly less natural sounding than cisgender speakers. Speakers rated as less natural took longer to identify and were identified less accurately in the gender identification task; furthermore, they were rated as less prototypically masculine/feminine. Conclusions Perceptual speech naturalness for both transfeminine and transmasculine speakers is strongly associated with gender cues in spontaneous speech. Training to align a speaker's voice with their gender identity may concurrently improve perceptual speech naturalness. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12543158

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