The Emergence of Discrete Perceptual-Motor Units in a Production Model That Assumes Holistic Phonological Representations
Intelligible speakers achieve specific vocal tract constrictions in rapid sequence. These constrictions are associated in theory with speech motor goals. Adult-focused models of speech production assume that discrete phonological representations, sequenced into word-length plans for output, define t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02121/full |
| _version_ | 1818969444080156672 |
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| author | Maya Davis Melissa A. Redford |
| author_facet | Maya Davis Melissa A. Redford |
| author_sort | Maya Davis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Intelligible speakers achieve specific vocal tract constrictions in rapid sequence. These constrictions are associated in theory with speech motor goals. Adult-focused models of speech production assume that discrete phonological representations, sequenced into word-length plans for output, define these goals. This assumption introduces a serial order problem for speech. It is also at odds with children's speech. In particular, child phonology and timing control suggest holistic speech plans, and so the hypothesis of whole word production. This hypothesis solves the serial order problem by avoiding it. When the same solution is applied to adult speech the problem becomes how to explain the development of highly intelligible speech. This is the problem addressed here. A modeling approach is used to demonstrate how perceptual-motor units of production emerge over developmental time with the perceptual-motor integration of holistic speech plans that are also phonological representations; the specific argument is that perceptual-motor units are a product of trajectories (nearly) crossing in motor space. The model, which focuses on the integration process, defines the perceptual-motor map as a set of linked pairs of experienced perceptual and motor trajectories. The trajectories are time-based excursions through speaker-defined perceptual and motor spaces. By hypothesis, junctures appear where motor trajectories near or overlap one another in motor space when the shared (or extremely similar) articulatory configurations in these regions are exploited to combine perceptually-linked motor paths along different trajectories. Junctures form in clusters in motor space. These clusters, along with their corresponding (linked) perceptual points, represent perceptual-motor units of production, albeit at the level of speech motor control only. The units serve as pivots in motor space during speaking; they are points of transition from one motor trajectory to another along perceptually-linked paths that are selected to produce best approximations of whole word targets. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T14:20:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f5eb8fcf771046a99a87ad72c545fa9a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T14:20:41Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f5eb8fcf771046a99a87ad72c545fa9a2022-12-21T19:37:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782019-09-011010.3389/fpsyg.2019.02121468824The Emergence of Discrete Perceptual-Motor Units in a Production Model That Assumes Holistic Phonological RepresentationsMaya DavisMelissa A. RedfordIntelligible speakers achieve specific vocal tract constrictions in rapid sequence. These constrictions are associated in theory with speech motor goals. Adult-focused models of speech production assume that discrete phonological representations, sequenced into word-length plans for output, define these goals. This assumption introduces a serial order problem for speech. It is also at odds with children's speech. In particular, child phonology and timing control suggest holistic speech plans, and so the hypothesis of whole word production. This hypothesis solves the serial order problem by avoiding it. When the same solution is applied to adult speech the problem becomes how to explain the development of highly intelligible speech. This is the problem addressed here. A modeling approach is used to demonstrate how perceptual-motor units of production emerge over developmental time with the perceptual-motor integration of holistic speech plans that are also phonological representations; the specific argument is that perceptual-motor units are a product of trajectories (nearly) crossing in motor space. The model, which focuses on the integration process, defines the perceptual-motor map as a set of linked pairs of experienced perceptual and motor trajectories. The trajectories are time-based excursions through speaker-defined perceptual and motor spaces. By hypothesis, junctures appear where motor trajectories near or overlap one another in motor space when the shared (or extremely similar) articulatory configurations in these regions are exploited to combine perceptually-linked motor paths along different trajectories. Junctures form in clusters in motor space. These clusters, along with their corresponding (linked) perceptual points, represent perceptual-motor units of production, albeit at the level of speech motor control only. The units serve as pivots in motor space during speaking; they are points of transition from one motor trajectory to another along perceptually-linked paths that are selected to produce best approximations of whole word targets.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02121/fullspeech productionspeech acquisitionperceptual-motor integrationmathematical modelwhole-word representationsdual lexicon model |
| spellingShingle | Maya Davis Melissa A. Redford The Emergence of Discrete Perceptual-Motor Units in a Production Model That Assumes Holistic Phonological Representations Frontiers in Psychology speech production speech acquisition perceptual-motor integration mathematical model whole-word representations dual lexicon model |
| title | The Emergence of Discrete Perceptual-Motor Units in a Production Model That Assumes Holistic Phonological Representations |
| title_full | The Emergence of Discrete Perceptual-Motor Units in a Production Model That Assumes Holistic Phonological Representations |
| title_fullStr | The Emergence of Discrete Perceptual-Motor Units in a Production Model That Assumes Holistic Phonological Representations |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Emergence of Discrete Perceptual-Motor Units in a Production Model That Assumes Holistic Phonological Representations |
| title_short | The Emergence of Discrete Perceptual-Motor Units in a Production Model That Assumes Holistic Phonological Representations |
| title_sort | emergence of discrete perceptual motor units in a production model that assumes holistic phonological representations |
| topic | speech production speech acquisition perceptual-motor integration mathematical model whole-word representations dual lexicon model |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02121/full |
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