Word-form encoding of disyllabic words in Mandarin Chinese was investigated with the implicit priming paradigm. Experiments 1a and 1b examined implicit priming for two hypothesized units in Mandarin Chinese, the character (syllable + tone + orthography) and the syllable + tone unit. Both units produced large and comparable implicit priming effects. Experiments 2, 3, and 4 (each with two subexperiments) and three follow-up experiments examined the syllable and the tone as the hypothesized units. The results showed that the syllable-alone (i.e., tones differed) prime produced some priming, whereas the tone-alone prime (i.e., syllables differed) produced no traditional implicit priming (the effect tended to be negative). Finally, Experiment 5 examined whether the syllable onset alone was capable of producing the implicit priming effect. It was not, thus ruling out the possibility that the syllable-alone effect could just be a syllable-onset effect. Taken together, the results suggest that (1) syllable+tone is a unit in word production and orthography and/or morphology does not seem to play a role here, (2) syllable without tone can act as a separate planning unit at the phonological level, and (3) tone most likely functions like stress and constitutes part of the metrical frame in Mandarin Chinese. The results support some, but not all, assumptions of models of word-form encoding derived primarily from studies in Dutch and English.

Four experiments investigated potential influences of spelling on single word speech production. A form-preparation paradigm that showed priming effects for words with initial form overlap was used to investigate whether words with form overlap, but different spelling (e.g., “camel”-“kidney”) also show priming. Experiment 1 demonstrated that such words did not benefit from the form overlap, suggesting that the incongruent spelling disrupted the form-preparation effect. Experiment 2 replicated the first experiment with an independent set of items and an improved design, and once again showed a disruptive effect of spelling. To divert participants’ attention from the spelling of the targets, Experiment 3 was conducted entirely in the auditory domain, but yielded the same outcome as before. Experiment 4 showed that matching initial letters alone, in the absence of matching sounds (e.g., “cycle”-“cobra”), did not produce priming. These findings raise the possibility that orthographic codes are mandatorily activated in speech production by literate speakers.

Current accounts of spoken production debate the extent to which speakers plan ahead. Here, we investigated whether the scope of phonological planning is influenced by changes in time pressure constraints. The first experiment used a picture–word interference task and showed that picture naming latencies were shorter when word distractors shared the final segments with the picture name. Experiment 2 used the same paradigm but with colored pictures to elicit determiner02+02adjective02+02noun phrases. Latencies were shorter when the distractor overlapped phonologically with the picture name. Finally, Experiment 3 demonstrated that in colored picture naming without distractors, latencies were shorter when the object noun began with the same phoneme as the color adjective. Crucially, in all experiments introduction of a response deadline accelerated latencies, but did not alter the relative magnitude of the priming effects. In sum, pressure to provide a swift response does not reduce the scope of phonological planning.

Five experiments explored the influence of repeated phonemes on the production of short utterances. In Experiment 1 coloured object naming showed faster latencies when colour and object started with the same phoneme (‘green goat’) than when they did not; the opposite was found when colour and object were named on consecutive trials (‘green’ – ‘goat’). Experiments 2 and 3 focused on adjective-noun phrases and showed no effect of repeated phonemes on either acoustical duration of speeded responses, or latencies in a delayed variant of the task, suggesting a higher-level – rather than articulatory – locus of the effect. Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrated that the facilitation induced by repeated segments is not specific to word onset (‘green chain’) and is independent of whether or not the repeated phonemes occupy the same within-word position (‘green flag’). These results indicate that in the production of multiple words, word forms are concurrently activated and evoke phonological segments represented in a position-nonspecific manner.

A theory of sentence production is presented that accounts for facts about speech errors, including (1) the kinds of errors that occur; (2) the constraints on their form; and (3) the conditions that precipitate them. Two simulation models are introduced to illustrate how the theory applies to phonological encoding processes. (Author/LMO)

We used the event-related potential (ERP) approach combined with a subtraction technique to explore the timecourse of activation of semantic and phonological representations in the picture–word interference paradigm. Subjects were exposed to to-be-named pictures superimposed on to-be-ignored semantically related, phonologically related, or unrelated words, and distinct ERP waveforms were generated time-locked to these different classes of stimuli. Difference ERP waveforms were generated in the semantic condition and in the phonological condition by subtracting ERP activity associated with unrelated picture–word stimuli from ERP activity associated with related picture–word stimuli. We measured both latency and amplitude of these difference ERP waveforms in a pre-articulatory time-window. The behavioral results showed standard interference effects in the semantic condition, and facilitatory effects in the phonological condition. The ERP results indicated a bimodal distribution of semantic effects, characterized by the extremely rapid onset (at about 10065ms) of a primary component followed by a later, distinct, component. Phonological effects in ERPs were characterized by components with later onsets and distinct scalp topography of ERP sources relative to semantic ERP components. Regression analyses revealed a covariation between semantic and phonological behavioral effect sizes and ERP component amplitudes, and no covariation between the behavioral effects and ERP component latency. The early effect of semantic distractors is thought to reflect very fast access to semantic representations from picture stimuli modulating on-going orthographic processing of distractor words.

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive meta-analysis of the relevant imaging literature on word production (82 experiments). In addition to the spatial overlap of activated regions, we also analyzed the available data on the time course of activations. The analysis specified regions and time windows of activation for the core processes of word production: lexical selection, phonological code retrieval, syllabification, and phonetic/articulatory preparation. A comparison of the word production results with studies on auditory word/non-word perception and reading showed that the time course of activations in word production is, on the whole, compatible with the temporal constraints that perception processes impose on the production processes they affect in picture/word interference paradigms.

react-text: 380 Humans need to supervise and adjust their own behavior by means of an error detection and correction system as well as by using externally available information. The purpose of the present study was to compare the electrophysiological effects related to self-generated internal and to external (feedback) information used for performance monitoring. Fourteen young normal subjects learned to... /react-text react-text: 381 /react-text [Show full abstract]

Previous studies have suggested that a negative component (N2) of the event-related potential (ERP), whose weak latency is 200 300 msec after stimulus onset, may vary in amplitude depending on the neuronal activity required for response inhibition. To confirm this, ERPs were recorded in a Go/No-go paradigm in which subjects of one group (HI, n = 10) were asked to respond to Go stimuli with key pressing within a shorter period (< 300 msec) than those of the other group (LI, n = 10) whose upper limit of the reaction time was relatively longer (< 500 msec). All subjects had to withhold the Go response to the No-go stimuli without making overt muscle activities. The N2 component was recorded superposed on the initial descending limb of the P300 and other slow deflections, which were attenuated with a digital filter to measure the amplitude of N2. The N2 amplitude was significantly larger to the No-go stimulus than to the Go stimulus in both groups, but the N2 to the No-go stimulus was significantly larger in the HI group than in the LI group. These differences in N2 amplitude between conditions or groups were thought to be independent of other ERP components such as P300 and CNV. These results suggest that at least to some extent N2, which increased in amplitude when a greater effort was required to withhold the Go response, reflects the activity of a response inhibition system of the brain.

Abstract Preparing words in speech production is normally a fast and accurate process. We generate them two or three per second in fluent conversation; and overtly naming a clear picture of an object can easily be initiated within 600 msec after picture onset. The underlying process, however, is exceedingly complex. The theory reviewed in this target article analyzes this process as staged and feed-forward. After a first stage of conceptual preparation, word generation proceeds through lexical selection, morphological and phonological encoding, phonetic encoding, and articulation itself. In addition, the speaker exerts some degree of output control, by monitoring of self-produced internal and overt speech. The core of the theory, ranging from lexical selection to the initiation of phonetic encoding, is captured in a computational model, called WEAVER++. Both the theory and the computational model have been developed in interaction with reaction time experiments, particularly in picture naming or related word production paradigms, with the aim of accounting for the real-time processing in normal word production. A comprehensive review of theory, model, and experiments is presented. The model can handle some of the main observations in the domain of speech errors (the major empirical domain for most other theories of lexical access), and the theory opens new ways of approaching the cerebral organization of speech production by way of high-temporal-resolution imaging.

This study examines syllabic and morphological determinants of synonymic intrusions such as BEHORTMENT, an inadvertent combination of BEHAVIOR and DEPORTMENT. Statistical analyses of 133 synonymic intrusions in German suggested that syllables are composed of at least three subunits: segments (consonants and vowels), consonant clusters, and a subunit consisting of vowel and final consonant(s). Similar analyses of 46 synonymic intrusions in English suggested that mechanisms underlying this class of error may be universal or common to all speakers. A hierarchic model of the serial order of speech was advanced to explain the structure of words and syllables suggested by these findings. Independent support for the model was noted in the rules governing abbreviations, Pig Latin, poetic rhyme, and other types of errors in speech.

Do speakers of all languages use segmental speech sounds when they produce words? Existing models of language production generally assume a mental representation of individual segmental units, or phonemes, but the bulk of evidence comes from speakers of European languages in which the orthographic system codes explicitly for speech sounds. By contrast in languages with nonalphabetical scripts, such as Mandarin Chinese, individual speech sounds are not orthographically represented, raising the possibility that speakers of these languages do not use phonemes as fundamental processing units. We used event-related potentials (ERPs) combined with behavioral measurement to investigate the role of phonemes in Mandarin production. Mandarin native speakers named colored line drawings of objects using color adjective-noun phrases; color and object name either shared the initial phoneme or were phonologically unrelated. Whereas naming latencies were unaffected by phoneme repetition, ERP responses were modulated from 200 ms after picture onset. Our ERP findings thus provide strong support for the claim that phonemic segments constitute fundamental units of phonological encoding even for speakers of languages that do not encode such units orthographically.

Five theories of spoken word production that differ along the discreteness-interactivity dimension are evaluated. Specifically examined is the role that cascading activation, feedback, seriality, and interaction domains play in accounting for a set of fundamental observations derived from patterns of speech errors produced by normal and brain-damaged individuals. After reviewing the evidence from normal speech errors, case studies of 3 brain-damaged individuals with acquired naming deficits are presented. The patterns these individuals exhibit provide important constraints on theories of spoken naming. With the help of computer simulations of the 5 theories, the authors evaluate the extent to which the error patterns predicted by each theory conform with the empirical facts. The results support a theory of spoken word production that, although interactive, places important restrictions on the extent and locus of interactivity.

A spatial cuing task was used to identify two types of readers, those with a relatively fast and those with a relatively slow buildup of inhibition of return (IOR). Backward-directed eye movements (regressions) during sentence reading were then examined as a function of the two IOR types. The results revealed that readers with fast IOR executed larger regressions than readers with slow IOR, as they directed the eyes away from the most recently attended area of text. Forward-directed eye movements (saccades), by contrast, were not a function of IOR type. Ease of sentence comprehension influenced the size of regressions, but this effect was also independent of IOR type. Multiple mechanisms of spatial attention, including IOR, bias eye movements toward upcoming words in the text during reading.

Chinese adults literate only in Chinese characters could not add or delete individual consonants in spoken Chinese words. A comparable group of adults, literate in alphabetic spelling as well as characters, could perform the same tasks readily and accurately. The two groups were similar in education and experience but differed in age and consequently in whether they had learned an alphabetic writing system in school. Even adults who had once learned alphabetic writing but were no longer able to use it were able to manipulate speech sounds in this way. This “segmentation” skill, which has been shown to contribute to skilled reading and writing, does not develop with cognitive maturation, non-alphabetic literacy, or exposure to a language rich in rhymes

Five implicit priming experiments examined whether the speech production system can plan noninitial morphemes of a word in advance of initial ones. On each trial, subjects had to produce one word out of a set of three words as quickly as possible. In a homogeneous condition, the responses shared part of their form, whereas in a heterogeneous condition they did not. The first experiment shows that the task is sensitive to morphological planning. In producing disyllabic simple and compound nouns, a larger facilitatory effect was obtained when a shared initial syllable constituted a morpheme than when it did not. The next three experiments suggest that successive morphemes are planned in serial order. In producing nominal compounds, no facilitation was obtained for noninitial morphemes. In producing prefixed verbs, facilitation was obtained for the prefix but not for the noninitial base. Sharing morphemes often implies semantic overlap. The fifth experiment shows that semantic similarity per se yields inhibition rather than facilitation. Computer simulations show that the WEAVER model of word-form encoding (Roelofs, 1992b, 1994, submitted-a) accounts for the findings.

Lexical access in speaking consists of two major steps: lemma retrieval and word-form encoding. In Roelofs (Roelofs, A. 1992a. Cognition 42, 107 142; Roelofs, A. 1993. Cognition 47, 59 87.), I described a model of lemma retrieval. The present paper extends this work by presenting a comprehensive model of the second access step, word-form encoding. The model is called WEAVER (Word-form Encoding by Activation and VERification). Unlike other models of word-form generation, WEAVER is able to provide accounts of response time data, particularly from the picture-word interference paradigm and the implicit priming paradigm. Its key features are (1) retrieval by spreading activation, (2) verification of activated information by a production rule, (3) a rightward incremental construction of phonological representations using a principle of active syllabification, syllables are constructed on the fly rather than stored with lexical items, (4) active competitive selection of syllabic motor programs using a mathematical formalism that generates response times and (5) the association of phonological speech errors with the selection of syllabic motor programs due to the failure of verification.

A number of elements have been suggested as units of sublexical processing during planning for speech production, some derived from grammatical theory and some from observed variations and constancies in the acoustic and articulatory patterns of speech. Candidates range from muscle-group control mechanisms to distinctive features, individual phonemic segments, diphones, demisyllables, syllable onsets and rhymes, and even syllables themselves. Proposals vary widely, partly because different levels of processing are being modeled, but also because the production planning process is highly complex, and our understanding of its many aspects is still quite rudimentary. To cite just a few areas where our models are particularly primitive, little is known about the planning mechanisms that might impose serial order on abstractly represented units, those that integrate adjacent elements with each other, those that coordinate all of the factors influencing segment duration, and those that compute motor commands; even less is known about the relationships among such possible processing components.

中国科学院机构知识库(CAS IR GRID)以发展机构知识能力和知识管理能力为目标，快速实现对本机构知识资产的收集、长期保存、合理传播利用，积极建设对知识内容进行捕获、转化、传播、利用和审计的能力，逐步建设包括知识内容分析、关系分析和能力审计在内的知识服务能力，开展综合知识管理。

Participants' eye movements were recorded as they read sentences with words containing transposed adjacent letters. Transpositions were either external (e.g., problme, rpoblem) or internal (e.g., porblem, probelm) and at either the beginning (e.g., rpoblem, porblem) or end (e.g., problme, probelm) of words. The results showed disruption for words with transposed letters compared to the normal baseline condition, and the greatest disruption was observed for word-initial transpositions. In Experiment 1, transpositions within low frequency words led to longer reading times than when letters were transposed within high frequency words. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the position of word-initial letters is most critical even when parafoveal preview of words to the right of fixation is unavailable. The findings have important implications for the roles of different letter positions in word recognition and the effects of parafoveal preview on word recognition processes.

Four experiments investigated the role of the syllable in Chinese spoken word production. Chen, Chen and Ferrand (2003) reported a syllable priming effect when primes and targets shared the first syllable using a masked priming paradigm in Chinese. Our Experiment 1 was a direct replication of Chen et al.’s (2003) Experiment 3 employing CV (e.g., ,/ba2.ying2/, strike camp) and CVG (e.g., ,/bai2.shou3/, white haired) syllable types. Experiment 2 tested the syllable priming effect using different syllable types: e.g., CV ( ,/qi4.qiu2/, balloon) and CVN ( ,/qing1.ting2/, dragonfly). Experiment 3 investigated this issue further using line drawings of common objects as targets that were preceded either by a CV (e.g., ,/qi3/, attempt), or a CVN (e.g., ,/qing2/, affection) prime. Experiment 4 further examined the priming effect by a comparison between CV or CVN priming and an unrelated priming condition using CV-NX (e.g., ,/mi2.ni3/, mini) and CVN-CX (e.g., ,/min2.ju1/, dwellings) as target words. These four experiments consistently found that CV targets were named faster when preceded by CV primes than when they were preceded by CVG, CVN or unrelated primes, whereas CVG or CVN targets showed the reverse pattern. These results indicate that the priming effect critically depends on the match between the structure of the prime and that of the first syllable of the target. The effect obtained in this study was consistent across different stimuli and different tasks (word and picture naming), and provides more conclusive and consistent data regarding the role of the syllable in Chinese speech production.

Established linguistic theoretical frameworks propose that alphabetic language speakers use phonemes as phonological encoding units during speech production whereas Mandarin Chinese speakers use syllables. This framework was challenged by recent neural evidence of facilitation induced by overlapping initial phonemes, raising the possibility that phonemes also contribute to the phonological encoding process in Chinese. However, there is no evidence of non-initial phoneme involvement in Chinese phonological encoding among representative Chinese speakers, rendering the functional role of phonemes in spoken Chinese controversial. Here, we addressed this issue by systematically investigating the word-initial and non-initial phoneme repetition effect on the electrophysiological signal using a picture-naming priming task in which native Chinese speakers produced disyllabic word pairs. We found that overlapping phonemes in both the initial and non-initial position evoked more positive ERPs in the 180- to 300-ms interval, indicating position-invariant repetition facilitation effect during phonological encoding. Our findings thus revealed the fundamental role of phonemes as independent phonological encoding units in Mandarin Chinese.