Time and thyme again: Connecting English spoken word duration to models of the mental lexicon
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Effects of word frequency on spoken word duration are well documented and have long informed theories of the mental lexicon. In this study, we discuss the two theoretical constructs, ‘frequency’ and ‘word’, that are implicated by the notion of lexical frequency, in light of recent models of the lexicon that do not contain stable, discrete lexical representations, and in which lexical frequency therefore has no place. We compare two approaches (localist spreading-activation vs. discriminative learning (DL) models integrating distributional semantics) by assessing regression models of spoken word duration of English homophones grounded in each. We further show that the relationship between a homophone's form and its semantics is predictive of its duration, consistent with predictions of the DL-based model.
Source: Language
Authors: Susanne Gahl, R. Harald Baayen
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4405397248