Effect of preceding speech on nonspeech sound perception

Abstract

Data from Japanese quail suggest that the effect of preceding liquids (/l/ or /r/) on response to subsequent stops (/g/ or /d/) arises from general auditory processes sensitive to the spectral structure of sound [A. J. Lotto, K. R. Kluender, and L. L. Holt, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 102, 1134–1140 (1997)]. If spectral content is key, appropriate nonspeech sounds should influence perception of speech sounds and vice versa. The former effect has been demonstrated [A. J. Lotto and K. R. Kluender, Percept. Psychophys. 60, 602–619 (1998)]. The current experiment investigated the influence of speech on the perception of nonspeech sounds. Nonspeech stimuli were 80-ms chirps modeled after the F2 and F3 transitions in /ga/ and /da/. F3 onset was increased in equal steps from 1800 Hz (/ga/ analog) to 2700 Hz (/da/ analog) to create a ten-member series. During AX discrimination trials, listeners heard chirps that were three steps apart on the series. Each chirp was preceded by a synthesized /al/ or /ar/. Results showed context effects predicted from differences in spectral content between the syllables and chirps. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that spectral contrast influences context effects in speech perception. [Work supported by ONR, NOHR, and CNBC.]