A possible auditory basis for internal structure of phonetic categories

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Abstract
We used a selective adaptation procedure to investigate the possibility that differences in the degree to which stimuli within a phonetic category are considered to be good exemplars of the category—that is, differences in perceived category goodness—have a basis at a prephonetic, auditory level of processing. For three different phoneticcontrasts (/b–p/, /d–g/, /b–w/), we assessed the relative magnitude of adaptation along a stimulus continuum produced by a variety of stimuli from the continuum belonging to a given phonetic category. For all three phoneticcontrasts, nonmonotonic adaptation functions were obtained: As the adaptor moved away from the category boundary, there was an initial increase in adaptation, followed by a subsequent decrease. On the assumption that selective adaptation taps a prephonetic, auditory level of processing, these findings permit the following conclusions. First, at an auditory level there is a limit on the range of stimuli along a continuum that is treated as relevant to a given contrast; that is, the stimuli along a continuum are effectively grouped into auditory categories. Second, stimuli within an auditory category vary in their effectiveness as category members, providing an internal structure to the categories. Finally, this internal category structure at the auditory level, revealed by the adaptation procedure, may provide a basis for differences in perceived category goodness at the phonetic level.

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