Further investigation of the semantic and pragmatic effects on speech production
Jan Charles-Luce, Basiliki Papadimitriou · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1991
Previous studies have shown that preceding semantic information affects the production of target words, for example blocking phonological rules or modifying duration. In addition, there is evidence that speakers modify their production of words during the speaker/listener exchange, for example in formal versus informal speaking situations. In the present study, two experimental environments were established to address the effects of semantic versus pragmatic contexts directly. In both environments, a subject was visually presented with a prime and then a target. The prime was either semantically related or unrelated to the target. The subject said the prime and target words aloud. In one experimental environment, a second person was present in the room to which the subject was to communicate. In the other environment, a subject performed the task alone. Dependent variables were duration of, fundamental frequency of, and reaction time to onset of pronunciation of the target word. The results will be discussed in the frameworks of interactive activation and pragmatic compensation.