Speech for Language

With occasional exceptions, the study of speech perception has been conducted as if the major goal for speech perception is to provide a string of phonemes that would then be used to understand what words were heard. In contrast, some of our present work is predicated on the belief that one cannot really understand speech perception without understanding the real function of listening to speech - understanding what was said. We are beginning to study how speech perception really is word perception, and we ask whether the classic construct of phonemes is really necessary or appropriate. We are studying how the structure of the lexicon shapes the way we hear speech. We are in the early stages of this endeavor, and our first efforts have been computational modeling of the process from sound to words (and their semantic connections) in collaboration with Professor Mark Seidenberg and his students. In addition, with Professors Julia Evans (San Diego State University) and Jeffry Coady (University of Colorado), we are studying lexical development in children with impairment and with more successful language development.

Selected publications:

Coady, J.A., Evans, J.L, & Kluender, K.R. (in press). “The role of phonotactic frequency in sentence repetition by children with specific language impairments.” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

Coady, J.A., Evans, J.L, & Kluender, K.R. (2010). “The role of phonotactic frequency in nonword repetition by children with specific language impairments.” International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 45, 494-509. PDF

Keidel, J.L., Jenison, R.L., Kluender, K.R., & Seidenberg, M.S. (2007). “Does grammar constrain statistical learning? Commentary on Bonnatti et al. (2005), Psychological Science, 18(10), 922-923. PDF

Coady, J.A., Evans, J.L., Mainela-Arnold, E., & Kluender, K.R. (2007). "Children with specific language impairments perceive speech most categorically when tokens are natural and meaningful." Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 50, 41-57. PDF

Coady, J.A., Kluender, K.R., Evans, J. (2005). "Categorical perception of speech in children with specific language impairments." Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48, 944-959. PDF

 

Sensorineural Processes

Perceptual Experience

Speech for Language

Applications