title: Discreteness and interactivity in spoken word production.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Science Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218-2585, USA. brenda@mail.cog.jhu.edu
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rapp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldrick
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012660:Semantics; D013060:Speech