Resonance in an exemplar-based lexicon: The emergence of social identity and phonology

Abstract

Two sets of data are discussed in terms of an exemplar-resonance model of the lexicon. First, a cross-linguistic review of vowel formant measurements indicate that phonetic differences between male and female talkers are a function of language, dissociated to a certain extent from vocal tract length. Second, an auditory word recognition study [Strand (2000). Gender Stereotype Effects in Speech Processing. Ph.D. Dissertation, Ohio State University] indicates that listeners can process words faster when the talker has a stereotypical sounding voice. An exemplar-resonance model of perception derives these effects suggesting that reentrant pathways [Edelman (1987). Neural Darwinism: The theory of neuronal group selection. New York: Basic Books] between cognitive categories and detailed exemplars of them leads to the emergence of social and linguistic entities.