The mental syllabary in speech production: An integration of different approaches and domains

Author: Cholin Joana  

Publisher: Routledge Ltd

ISSN: 1464-5041

Source: Aphasiology, Vol.22, Iss.11, 2008-11, pp. : 1127-1141

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Abstract

Background: The assumption of independently stored syllable motor programs has become an inherent part of the speech production model by Levelt and colleagues (Levelt, 1989, 1992; Levelt, Roelofs, & Meyer, 1999; Levelt & Wheeldon, 1994). In this model a mental syllabary is assumed to be located between the levels of phonological and phonetic encoding and is thought to contain the (high-frequency) syllables of a given language as ready-made whole gestural scores. The retrieval of precompiled syllable programs allows for rapid and fluent articulation and reduces the computational load relative to a segment-by-segment online assembly. A second online assembly is assumed to generate syllable programs for low-frequency and new syllables. Aims: The aim of the current paper is to analyse and compare the findings from two different lines of research that investigated the notion of a mental syllabary in speech production: psycholinguistic studies on the one hand and clinical studies on the other hand. Both lines of research rest on the assumption that high- and low-frequency syllables involve different retrieval or assembly mechanisms: If high-frequency syllables are stored and can be retrieved as whole entities, retrieval times should both be faster and more accurate compared to low-frequency syllables that need to be assembled. Main Contribution: The joint analysis of these two lines of research might reveal insights into the underlying mechanisms of phonological/phonetic encoding. Whereas there seems to be converging evidence for the assumption that high-frequency syllables are stored, the mechanisms that generate low-frequency syllables are less clear. Conclusion: Taken altogether, the emerging picture shows that further research is needed in order to fully understand how the mental syllabary and related representations and processes interact. The integration of results from the two different domains, psycholinguistics and clinical research, might offer means for a deeper understanding, helping to further specify the mental syllabary theory.