title: Generalization of Phonetic Detail: Cross-Segmental, Within-Category Priming of VOT.
abstract: The current study examined whether fine-grained phonetic detail (voice onset time (VOT)) of one segment (/p/ or /k/) generalizes to a different segment (/t/) within the same natural class. Two primes were constructed to exploit the natural variation of VOT: a velar stop followed by a high vowel (keen) resulting in a naturally long VOT and a labial stop followed by a low vowel (pan) resulting in a naturally shorter VOT. Two experiments were conducted, one in which the speakers produced both the prime and the target, and a second in which the speakers heard the primes and then produced the targets. In Experiment 1, VOTs for initial /t/ were shorter following pan than following keen. In Experiment 2 where participants heard the primes, priming was found only when the primes had unexpected relative VOT values (short for keen and long for pan). These results provide evidence for cross-segmental generalization of phonetic detail and also suggest that natural, within-category variability is encoded during language processing.
authors.forename: Susannah V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Levi
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D010700:Phonetics; D014831:Voice; D055815:Young Adult