Phonological Neighborhood Research Articles

Phonological neighbors influence word naming through the least supported phoneme.

Recent research has shown that phonological neighborhood density facilitates naming latencies. In an attempt to extend this work, the authors evaluated the effect of phonological neighborhood distribution by comparing responding to words that consisted of 3 phonemes but differed in the number of phoneme positions that could be changed to form a neighbor (i.e., 2 vs. 3 positions). The results revealed that words in which all 3 positions could be changed to form a neighbor were named more rapidly than were words in which only 2 positions could be changed. The results show that this effect occurs due to a difference between the 2 groups of words in terms of their least supported phoneme (i.e., the phoneme position within a word with which the fewest neighbors overlap). The authors show that differences in terms of the number of neighbors for the least supported phoneme can also explain past research that indicates an effect of phonological neighborhood density on naming. The authors explain the results of this research using the dual-route cascaded model of reading aloud.

Sensitivity to Phonological Similarity Within and Across Languages

The influence of phonological similarity on bilingual language processing was examined within and across languages in three experiments. Phonological similarity was manipulated within a language by varying neighborhood density, and across languages by varying extent of cross-linguistic overlap between native and non-native languages. In Experiment 1, speed and accuracy of bilinguals' picture naming were susceptible to phonological neighborhood density in both the first and the second language. In Experiment 2, eye-movement patterns indicated that the time-course of language activation varied across phonological neighborhood densities and across native/non-native language status. In Experiment 3, speed and accuracy of bilingual performance in an auditory lexical decision task were influenced by degree of cross-linguistic phonological overlap. Together, the three experiments confirm that bilinguals are sensitive to phonological similarity within and across languages and suggest that this sensitivity is asymmetrical across native and non-native languages and varies along the timecourse of word processing.

Interference in verbal working memory: Distinguishing similarity-based confusion, feature overwriting, and feature migration

Reports two experiments on mechanism of interference in working memory. Experiment 1 shows that a target word in a memory list, which bears high similarity to one of 4 words read aloud in the retention interval, is recalled less well than a control word. A second target word, not similar to any word read aloud but with all its phonemes repeated among the words read aloud, suffered the same degree of impairment. Feature overwriting explains both results, whereas similarity-based confusion explains only the first. In Experiment 2, participants remembered lists of 4 words, followed by 4 letters. A target word with high phoneme overlap with the letters was recalled worse than a control word, in line with predictions from feature overwriting. A further target word with many phonological neighbors created by inserting letter phonemes into it was recalled better than a control, contrary to predictions from feature migration.

The effect of phonological neighborhood density on eye movements during reading

Recent research has indicated that phonological neighbors speed processing in a variety of isolated word recognition tasks. Nevertheless, as these tasks do not represent how we normally read, it is not clear if phonological neighborhood has an effect on the reading of sentences for meaning. In the research reported here, we evaluated whether phonological neighborhood density influences reading of target words embedded in sentences. The eye movement data clearly revealed that phonological neighborhood facilitated reading. This was evidenced by shorter fixations for words with large neighborhoods relative to words with small neighborhoods. These results are important in indicating that phonology is a crucial component of reading and that it affects early lexical processing.

Lexical processing in Spanish Sign Language (LSE)

Lexical access is concerned with how the spoken or visual input of language is projected onto the mental representations of lexical forms. To date, most theories of lexical access have been based almost exclusively on studies of spoken languages and/or orthographic representations of spoken languages. Relatively few studies have examined how lexical access takes place in deaf users of signed languages. This paper examines whether two properties, lexical familiarity and phonological neighborhood, which are known to influence recognition in spoken languages, influence lexical access in Spanish Sign Language— Lengua de Signos Espanola (LSE). Our results indicate that the representational factors of lexical familiarity and phonological neighborhood can be observed in native and non-native deaf users of LSE. In addition, the present data provides evidence for the importance of sub-lexical properties in sign language processing.

Lexical influences on single word repetition in acquired spoken output impairment: A cross language comparison

Background: Among the many factors that may affect speech production, phonological neighbourhood density (ND) and phonotactic probability (PROB) have displayed effects on speech and language performance in healthy speakers. What is not clear is if they show an effect in impaired speech output after stroke and if they do, whether this effect is facilitatory or inhibitory. Aims: To determine whether ND and/or PROB play a role in speech production accuracy in acquired output impairment after stroke. To compare the performance of English vs German speakers on a matched set of words in order to tease out language‐specific and language‐independent factors affecting impaired speech output. Methods & Procedures: Seven English and seven German native speakers with acquired output impairment after stroke repeated in their respective languages 509 real words that are (near) homophones across German and English (e.g., leader–Lieder; vine–Wein). Responses were transcribed phonetically and scored as correct or incorrect. Results & Outcomes: There was a small correlation between accuracy on near‐homophones between English and German speakers (r = .201; p < .001). Correlating accuracy for speakers combined across both languages with language‐independent factors (i.e., number of phonemes, syllables, clusters) showed significant independent effects of number of phonemes and clusters in the target, but multiple regressions did not show an effect of number of syllables. Within‐language correspondence was greater than between‐language correspondence (9.4% vs 4%; p < .00001). Correlating differences in accuracy in English/German with differences in language‐specific factors (i.e., word and syllable frequency, PROB, ND) multiple regression displayed a significant independent effect of the target's word frequency but not of the target's ND, PROB, or syllable frequency. Conclusions: The small but significant correlation between accuracy on (near) homophones for English and German speakers suggests there are language‐independent determinants of production accuracy, whereas greater within‐language correspondence indicates language‐specific determinants of performance. Only word frequency appears to have a significant (facilitatory) effect on response accuracy. Neither ND nor PROB had a significant effect on response accuracy in this study. The results are discussed in light of theoretical and methodological issues within the study.

A mouse with a roof? effects of phonological neighbors on processing of words in sentences in a non-native language

The architecture of the language processing system for speakers of more than one language remains an intriguing topic of research. A common finding is that speakers of multiple languages are slower at responding to language stimuli in their non-native language (L2) than monolingual speakers. This may simply reflect participants’ unfamiliarity with words in the L2, however it may also be the reflection of interference from competing lexical alternatives both across and within the participants’ multiple languages. In the current studies (one behavioral, one electrophysiological) we investigate how interference from phonologically similar words within the L2 alone may account for problems in auditory language comprehension in non-native speakers. To this end a cross modal lexical priming (CMLP) paradigm was implemented, which allowed us to look for effects of spoken word primes embedded in sentences on the recognition of target stimuli. Specifically, we investigated whether a word such as mouse, which has a close phonological neighbor, house, would show a modulating effect on recognition of a word semantically related to house but not to mouse (i.e., roof). We hypothesized that L2 speakers, less efficient at categorizing phonemes in their L2 would show a difference in the processing of roof preceded by mouse as compared to roof preceded by another unrelated word, such as lamp, due to a residual co-activation of the phonological neighbor mouse. Furthermore, L1 speakers, highly proficient at recognizing phonemes in their native tongue, should show no such effect. The results of both studies clearly support our hypothesis, indicating that phonological neighbors in the L2 may greatly interfere with L2 word recognition.

Orthographic facilitation and phonological inhibition in spoken word recognition: A developmental study

We investigated the extent to which learning to read and write affects spoken word recognition. Previous studies have reported orthographic effects on spoken language in skilled readers. However, very few studies have addressed the development of these effects as a function of reading expertise. We therefore studied orthographic neighborhood (ON) and phonological neighborhood (PN) effects in spoken word recognition in beginning and advanced readers and in children with developmental dyslexia. We predicted that whereas both beginning and advanced readers would show normal PN effects, only advanced readers would show ON effects. The results confirmed these predictions. The size of the ON effect on spoken word recognition was strongly predicted by written language experience and proficiency. In contrast, the size of the PN effect was not affected by reading level. Moreover, dyslexic readers showed no orthographic effects on spoken word recognition. In sum, these data suggest that orthographic effects on spoken word recognition are not artifacts of some uncontrolled spoken language property but reflect a genuine influence of orthographic information on spoken word recognition.

Phonological neighborhood and word frequency effects in the stuttered disfluencies of children who stutter.

The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the role of neighborhood density (number of words that are phonologically similar to a target word) and frequency variables on the stuttering-like disfluencies of preschool children who stutter, and (b) whether these variables have an effect on the type of stuttering-like disfluency produced. A 500+ word speech sample was obtained from each participant (N = 15). Each stuttered word was randomly paired with the firstly produced word that closely matched it in grammatical class, familiarity, and number of syllables/phonemes. Frequency, neighborhood density, and neighborhood frequency values were obtained for the stuttered and fluent words from an online database. Findings revealed that stuttered words were lower in frequency and neighborhood frequency than fluent words. Words containing part-word repetitions and sound prolongations were also lower in frequency and/or neighborhood frequency than fluent words, but these frequency variables did not have an effect on single-syllable word repetitions. Neighborhood density failed to influence the susceptibility of words to stuttering, as well as the type of stuttering-like disfluency produced. In general, findings suggest that neighborhood and frequency variables not only influence the fluency with which words are produced in speech, but also have an impact on the type of stuttering-like disfluency produced.

Formal Distinctiveness of High‐ and Low‐Imageability Nouns: Analyses and Theoretical Implications

Words associated with perceptually salient, highly imageable concepts are learned earlier in life, more accurately recalled, and more rapidly named than abstract words (R. W. Brown, 1976; Walker & Hulme, 1999). Theories accounting for this concreteness effect have focused exclusively on semantic properties of word referents. A novel possibility is that word structure may also contribute to the effect. We report a corpus-based analysis of the phonological and morphological structures of a large set of nouns with imageability ratings (N = 2,023). High- and low-imageability nouns differed by length, etymology, prosody, affixation, phonological neighborhood density, and rates of consonant clustering. On average, nouns denoting abstract concepts were longer, more derivationally complex, and emerged in English from a different distribution of languages than did concrete nouns. We address implications for interactivity of word form and meaning as pertain to theories of word concreteness, lexical acquisition, and word processing.

The spread of the phonological neighborhood influences spoken word recognition

In three experiments, the processing of words that had the same overall number of neighbors but varied in the spread of the neighborhood (i.e., the number of individual phonemes that could be changed to form real words) was examined. In an auditory lexical decision task, a naming task, and a same-different task, words in which changes at only two phoneme positions formed neighbors were responded to more quickly than words in which changes at all three phoneme positions formed neighbors. Additional analyses ruled out an account based on the computationally derived uniqueness points of the words. Although previous studies (e.g., Luce & Pisoni, 1998) have shown that the number of phonological neighbors influences spoken word recognition, the present results show that the nature of the relationship of the neighbors to the target word--as measured by the spread of the neighborhood--also influences spoken word recognition. The implications of this result for models of spoken word recognition are discussed.

Phonological awareness and literacy skills in Korean: An examination of the unique role of body-coda units

This study examines a salient intrasyllabic phonological unit in Korean, the body-coda unit, its role in literacy skills in Korean, and a possible source of the salience of body-coda units in the spoken language. Data were collected from Korean-speaking, monolingual beginning readers (41 kindergarteners, 40 first graders). The results indicate that body-coda boundary (e.g.,ca-t) is more salient than onset–rime boundary (e.g.,c-at) for Korean children and show that children's body-coda awareness is an important predictor of word decoding and spelling in Korean. Furthermore, the analysis of phonological neighbors and frequency of syllable types suggests that a phonotactic feature in Korean, the frequency of consonant–verb syllable type, may be a possible source of the saliency of the body-coda intrasyllabic division for Korean children.

The clustering coefficient of phonological neighborhoods influences spoken word recognition

Neighborhood density refers to the number of words, or neighbors, that are phonologically related to a given word. For example, the words BAT, MAT, CUT, and CAN (among others) are considered phonological neighbors of the word CAT. In contrast, the clustering coefficient of the neighborhood refers to the proportion of phonological neighbors that are also neighbors of each other. Among the neighbors of CAT, the words BAT and MAT are neighbors of each other, but the words BAT and CAN are not neighbors of each other. Despite the stimulus words having the same number of neighbors overall, the results of an auditory lexical decision task showed that words with a high clustering coefficient (i.e., most neighbors were also neighbors of each other) were responded to more quickly than words with a low clustering coefficient (i.e., few neighbors were also neighbors of each other). These results suggest that some aspects of phonological similarity (i.e., clustering coefficient) might facilitate lexical activation, whereas other aspects of phonological similarity (i.e., neighborhood density) influence a later, decision stage of processing characterized by competition among activated word-forms. [Work supported by NIH.]

The effect of phonological neighborhood density and word frequency on vowel production and perception in clear speech

Previous research showed that phonological neighborhood density and word frequency influence word recognition (Luce and Pisoni, 1998) and vowel production (Wright, 2002; Munson and Solomon, 2004; Munson, to appear), suggesting an interaction of lexical and phonetic factors in speech production and perception Here, we explore whether hyperarticulated, intelligibility-enhancing clear speech shows similar sensitivity to lexical-level structure. Nine American English talkers (five females, four males) produced 40 monosyllabic easy (frequent words with few lexical neighbors) and hard (infrequent words with many lexical neighbors) words in conversational and clear speech. Twenty-four subjects participated in a word-in-noise listening test. Results revealed a large effect of style on intelligibility and vowel production: words were more intelligible and vowels were longer and more dispersed in clear compared to conversational speech. Moreover, the female talkers produced larger vowel spaces than male talkers in both speaking styles. Vowels in hard words were marginally more dispersed than vowels in easy words in both speaking styles. However, within both speaking styles, easy and hard words were equally intelligible and of approximately equal duration. These results showed that phonetic properties of vowels were enhanced equally in clear speech regardless of their lexical properties.

E-Hitz: A word frequency list and a program for deriving psycholinguistic statistics in an agglutinative language (Basque)

We describe a Windows program that enables users to obtain a broad range of statistics concerning the properties of word and nonword stimuli in an agglutinative language (Basque), including measures of word frequency (at the whole-word and lemma levels), bigram and biphone frequency, orthographic similarity, orthographic and phonological structure, and syllable-based measures. It is designed for use by researchers in psycholinguistics, particularly those concerned with recognition of isolated words and morphology. In addition to providing standard orthographic and phonological neighborhood measures, the program can be used to obtain information about other forms of orthographic similarity, such as transposed-letter similarity and embedded-word similarity. It is available free of charge from www .uv.es/mperea/E-Hitz.zip.

Limited interaction in speech production: Chronometric, speech error, and neuropsychological evidence

Results from chronometric and speech errors studies provide convergent evidence for both lower and upper bounds on interaction within the speech production system. Some degree of cascading activation is required to account for patterns of speech errors in neurologically intact and impaired speakers as well as the results of recent chronometric studies. However, the strength of this form of interaction must be limited to account for the occurrence of selective deficits in the production system and restrictions on the conditions under which interactive effects influence reaction times. Similarly, some amount of feedback from phonological to word-level representations is necessary to account for patterns of speech errors in neurologically intact and impaired individuals as well as the influence of phonological neighbours on response latency. This interactive mechanism must also be limited to account for restrictions on the types of speech errors produced following selective deficits within the production system. Results from a variety of empirical traditions therefore converge on the same conclusion: interaction is present, but it must be crucially limited.

The curious case of competition in Spanish speech production

In previous studies in English examining the influence of phonological neighbourhood density in spoken word production, words with many similar sounding words, or a dense neighbourhood, were produced more quickly and accurately than words with few similar sounding words, or a sparse neighbourhood. The influence of phonological neighbourhood density on the process of spoken word production in Spanish was examined with a picture-naming task. The results showed that pictures with Spanish names from sparse neighbourhoods were named more quickly than pictures with Spanish names from dense neighbourhoods. The present pattern of results is the opposite of what has been previously found in speech production in English. We hypothesise that differences in the morphology of Spanish and English and/or the location in the word where phonological neighbours tend to occur may contribute to the processing differences observed in the two languages.

Identification of lexical–phonological networks in the superior temporal sulcus using functional magnetic resonance imaging

General agreement exists that dorsal aspects of the temporal lobe support the perception of speech but there is less agreement regarding the mapping between levels of speech processing and neural regions within the dorsal temporal lobe. The present experiment sought to identify temporal lobe regions that support one such level, namely, lexical-phonological representation/processing. To do this, we manipulated phonological neighborhood density, a variable that affects processing within lexical-phonological networks. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, 10 participants listened to blocks of either high-density or low-density words. High-density words produced significantly more activation in the posterior half of the superior temporal sulcus bilaterally, suggesting that these regions are involved in lexical-phonological processing networks.

Revisiting distinctive processes in memory

In three experiments,we examined the relationship between orthographic andphonological distinctiveness and incidental recall. In each experiment, participants were given a surprise free recalltest after they read words aloud as quickly and accurately as possible. The pattern of results replicated those reported in Cortese, Watson, Wang, and Fugett (2004) for intentional and explicit free recall and recognition memory tasks in which items were read silently. Specifically, we found that phonological-to-orthographic neighborhood size influenced recall performance,whereas orthographic-to-phonologicalconsistency and phonological-to-orthographic consistency did not Also, we failed to replicate the orthographic-to-phonological consistency effect reported by Hirshman and Jackson (1997), and argue that their results were due to a confounding of consistency with phonological neighborhood size. Our results suggest that the processing of words sharing both orthography and phonology with a large number of words produces interference that reduces one's ability to remember them.

Speech and language processing mechanisms in verbal serial recall

We report two experiments examining the role of concreteness and word phonological neighborhood characteristics on immediate serial recall. In line with previous findings concreteness, word frequency, and larger neighborhood size are associated with better serial recall. Both concreteness and word neighborhood size were also positively associated with a measure of access to a speech production code from semantics (the speed and accuracy of providing a spoken word from its spoken definition). In contrast, concreteness had no effects on speech perception measures, and words from large neighborhoods were actually identified in speech with more difficulty than words from small neighborhoods. This pattern of results suggests that speech production mechanisms are more closely related to immediate serial recall performance than are speech perception mechanisms.