WHO:	BCS Lunch Talk, Sarah Creel , BCS Graduate Student
TOPIC:	Segment Similarity in Word Learning
ABSTRACT:	As sounds unfold in spoken utterances, listeners generate a variety of potential word candidates before all of the acoustic information is available, thereby making the process of lexical access extremely efficient. How does lexical access operate as new words are being learned?The role of segment similarity in word learning was assessed using several artificial lexicons in a referential context. Learning consisted of 480 trials in which Ss heard one of 40 CVCV (or VCVC) nonsense strings, accompanied by an unfamiliar picture. In testing, participants heard the instruction "Click on the [nonsense word]", and chose one of four pictures that matched the test item. On some trials, target lexical items (pibo) appeared with foils that were similar in some way: cohort items whose onsets matched (pibo, pibu), rhymes (pibo, dibo), matched consonant frames (pibo, pabu) or matched vowel frames (pibo, diko). The first two experiments demonstrated cohort and rhyme confusions during learning that were similar to findings on lexical activation for real words. Four further experiments explored the role of segment similarity in word confusions. Consonant-matched stimuli were more strongly confused with each other than vowel-matched stimuli, as long as consonants were in syllable-initial position. Placing consonants in syllable-final position weakened consonant-match effects and strengthened vowel-match effects, although vowel-match effects under these conditions did not reach the magnitude of the strongest consonant-match effects. These results suggest that not only word onsets but also syllable onsets are key elements in lexical learning, though consonants may still have somewhat more informative value than vowels. (Come to my lunch talk and get the real dako on the pibu.) h
WHEN:	10/15/2003 12:00:00 PM
WHERE:	Meliora 269

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