Effects of phonotactic probability on segmentation of words in continuous speech

At the last meeting of the Society, evidence was presented regarding the role of phonotactic probability in the segmentation of spoken words in continuous speech. Results of further studies examining this issue will be presented. Participants made speeded word detection responses to sequences of spoken stimuli composed of target words preceded and followed by nonwords (i.e., NONWORD–TARGET WORD–NONWORD). Speed and accuracy of detection were examined as a function of the nonword contexts of the target words. In particular, probabilities of segmental transitions from the nonword contexts to the target words were manipulated: Pairs of segments composed of the last segment of the preceding nonword and the first segment of the target word, as well as pairs composed of the last segment of the target word and the first segment of the following nonword, were varied in terms of intraword transition probability (HIGH and NONE) and position specific segment probability (HIGH and LOW). Only CC transitions were used. ...