Alvin Liberman, infant research, and the speech module

Abstract

In 1957, Alvin Liberman offered a highly controversial statement based on the experimental work at Haskins Laboratories, known as ‘‘the motor theory of speech perception.’’ Over time, the theory evolved to presume that the mechanisms underlying speech processing were biologically determined and specialized for the perception and production of speech. Speech perception was in effect not an auditory process, at least beyond the initial reception of speech, but rather part of a species-specific processing system that made language possible. We consider this view in light of selected aspects of our research on infant speech perception, which was driven in large part by the work of Liberman and his associates. We believe that the evidence in its entirety supports Liberman’s idea of a species-specific processor or module that permits the acquisition and use of language, including much of the relatively early processing of speech.