Abstract
Can phonetic convergence be lexically specific, providing evidence that representations include word-specific phonetic detail, or does it occur only at a phonological level? Some studies find more convergence in lower frequency words, which is interpreted as evidence for word-specific representations. However, this result has not been consistently replicated, and provides only indirect evidence for word-specific convergence. I more directly test the possibility of word-specific convergence in a shadowing task with different words manipulated in opposing directions; word-specific acoustic details are reflected in immediate repetition, but not in the post-task productions that would indicate shifts in the representation. I also examine a possible alternative source of apparent frequency-conditioned convergence. In a reading task with no exposure to other speakers, frequency was a predictor of speakers becoming more similar to each other in their second reading of a word; because effects of repetition are influenced by lexical frequency, apparent frequency-conditioned convergence can be produced as an artifact of the repetition inherent in shadowing tasks.
Highlights
Can phonetic convergence be lexically specific, or does convergence occur only at a phonological level? Some studies find more convergence in lower frequency words, which is taken as evidence for word-specific phonetic detail (Goldinger, 1998; Babel, 2010; Nielsen, 2011; Dias & Rosenblum, 2016)
The main element of interest in each model is the t-value for lexical frequency
Given that there was no possibility for convergence in this task, there should not be any effect of lexical frequency in predicting convergence
Summary
Some studies find more convergence in lower frequency words, which is taken as evidence for word-specific phonetic detail (Goldinger, 1998; Babel, 2010; Nielsen, 2011; Dias & Rosenblum, 2016). 1.1 Frequency effects Several studies have found a correlation between lexical frequency and convergence, with more convergence in lower frequency words (Goldinger, 1998; Babel, 2010; Nielsen, 2011; Dias & Rosenblum, 2016). There are more pre-existing recent exemplars, so the exemplars from the task have a smaller impact in shifting that robust representation
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