Perceptual integration of linguistic and non-linguistic properties of speech

Publication Date

1-1-2021

Document Type

Contribution to a Book

Publication Title

The Handbook of Speech Perception

DOI

10.1002/9781119184096.ch15

First Page

398

Last Page

427

Abstract

Speech is a complex auditory signal that contains multiple layers of linguistic and non-linguistic structure. Perceivers are exquisitely sensitive to this layered structure and extract not only linguistic properties, but also indexical characteristics that provide information about individual talkers and groups of talkers. This chapter reviews empirical and theoretical work examining the extent to which linguistic and non-linguistic properties of speech are independently processed and represented. It considers research examining the impact of socially-conditioned and linguistically-relevant variation on the perception of speech and reviews how familiarity with this lawful variation impacts listeners’ perception of both linguistic and non-linguistic form. The chapter argues that variation due to talker and other factors is highly informative, has perceptual consequences for linguistic processing, and is therefore integral to the representation and processing of spoken language. Models of speech perception must necessarily include mechanisms for tracking and representing informative variation in linguistic form.

Keywords

Linguistic processing, Non-linguistic properties, Speech perception, Spoken language, Systematic variation, Talker recognition

Department

Psychology

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