Syllables as units in speech production: Data from aphasia

The syllable has received considerable empirical support as a unit of processing in speech perception, but its status in speech production remains unclear. Some researchers propose that syllables are individually represented and retrieved during phonological encoding (e.g., Dell, 1986; Ferrand, Segui, & Grainger, 1996; MacKay, 1987). We test this hypothesis by examining the influence of syllable frequency on the phonological errors of two aphasics. These individuals both had an impairment in phonological encoding, but appeared to differ in the precise locus of that impairment. They each read aloud and repeated 110 pairs of words matched for syllabic complexity, but differing in final syllable frequency. Lexical frequency was also controlled. Neither aphasic was more error-prone on low than on high frequency syllables (indeed, one showed a near-significant reverse effect), and neither showed a preference for more frequent syllables in their errors. These findings provide no support for the view that syllables are individually represented and accessed during phonological encoding.

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