Abstract

Two gating studies, a forced-choice identification study and 2 series of cross-modal repetition priming experiments, traced the time course of recognition of words with onset embeddings (captain) and short words in contexts that match (cap tucked) or mismatch (cap looking) with longer words. Results suggest that acoustic differences in embedded syllables assist the perceptual system in discriminating short words from the start of longer words. The ambiguity created by embedded words is therefore not as severe as predicted by models of spoken word recognition based on phonemic representations. These additional acoustic cues combine with post-offset information in identifying onset-embedded words in connected speech. An important problem in the perception of connected speech is segmentation: how listeners divide the speech stream into individual lexical units or words. Words in fluent speech are not separated by silence in the same way that printed words are divided by blank spaces, yet connected speech is perceived as a sequence of individual words. This perceptual experience clearly reflects acquired language-specific knowledge, because listeners do not have the

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