What Makes Lexical Tone Special: A Reverse Accessing Model for Tonal Speech Perception

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Xiang Gao¹  Ting Huang¹  Hua Shu¹  Yun Nan¹  Yu-Xuan Zhang¹ 

[1] State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University

关键词: speech perception model;    lexical tone;    phonological processing;    tonal language;    Mandarin Chinese;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02830

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Previous studies of tonal speech perception have generally suggested harder or later access to lexical tone than segmental information, but the mechanism underlying the lexical tone disadvantage is unclear. Using a speeded discrimination paradigm free of context information, we confirmed multiple lines of evidence for the lexical tone disadvantage as well as revealed a distinctive advantage of word and atonal syllable judgments over phoneme and lexical tone judgments. The results led us to propose a Reverse Accessing Model (RAM) for tonal speech perception. The RAM is an extension of the influential TRACE model, with two additional processing levels specialized for tonal speech: lexical tone and atonal syllable. Critically, information accessing is assumed to be in reverse order of information processing, and only information at the syllable level and up is maintained active for immediate use. We tested and confirmed the predictions of the RAM on discrimination of each type of phonological component under different stimulus conditions. The current results have thus demonstrated the capability of the RAM as a general framework for tonal speech perception to provide a united account for empirical observations as well as to generate testable predictions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY