Are the Objects of Speech Perception Articulatory Gestures or Auditory Qualities? Perceptual Compensation for Coarticulation: Implications for Theories of Speech Perception Contrast or Compensation? Results from a Masking Study

Accounts of speech perception differ on whether vocal tract gestures (Fowler, 1986, e.g.) or the acoustic signal itself (Diehl, Lotto, and Holt, 2004) constitute the proper objects of speech perception. One extensively studied phenomenon, that has been used to distinguish these two kinds of accounts, is perceptual compensation for coarticulation. However, little agreement exists regarding the implications of evidence on perceptual compensation. In this talk, I attempt to lay out the competing viewpoints of this phenomenon and present a series of experiments with a view to dissociate them. I then consider the implications of this evidence for the accounts under consideration, as well as for speech perception in general. Finally, I outline the new questions that arise from these findings, and briefly describe the directions in which I hope to proceed with my research program.