Xiaofeng Li
Jennifer L. Cho
Ctr. for Cognitive and Psycholinguistic Sci., Binghamton Univ., Binghamton, NY 13902-6000
Speech perception research has typically investigated phoneme categories and specified trading relation effects in terms of limits defined along single dimensions. However, phoneme categories vary along a number of significant physical dimensions, with stimuli distributed across the multidimensional perceptual space often differing in goodness of category membership. The current study used a set of synthetic CV syllables based on F2- and F3-onset frequencies to examine the internal structure of several phonetic categories within the same vowel context. Experiment 1 used a free classification task to establish the perceptual structure of categories differing in place of articulation. Experiments 2, 3, and 4, respectively, related response times of a speeded classification task with category goodness ratings and a multidimensional phonetic perceptual space based upon similarity ratings. The multidimensional space was quite distinct compared to a prior space obtained for a different vowel context. Results are discussed in terms of prototype and exemplar models of phonetic classification. [Research supported in part by grants from NSF and AFOSR to R. E. Pastore, and NIH.] [sup a)]Now at Indiana University.