Shifting between storage and computation in lexical retrieval: Evidence from pronunciation variation

Cohen, C. and Carlson, M. T. (2024) Shifting between storage and computation in lexical retrieval: Evidence from pronunciation variation. In: Schlechtweg, M. (ed.) Interfaces of Phonetics. Series: Phonology and Phonetics, 38. De Gruyter Mouton. ISBN 9783110772517 (In Press)

Abstract

Traditional models of lexical retrieval distinguish between whole-word retrieval and computation-based retrieval of inflected word forms. In the former, a word form is stored and retrieved as a complete unit. In the latter, the word form must be created through the combination of individually stored components that make up the target word form’s inflectional paradigm. In this study, we propose a way of understanding these different modes of retrieval through the lens of exemplar theory. To that end, we examine how pronunciation varies as a function of three different probabilistic measures: contextual probability, a property of a word form within a sentence; paradigmatic probability, a property of the word form irrespective of context; and inflectional entropy, a property of the inflectional paradigm. Using the Buckeye corpus of conversational English, we extracted all nouns and verbs and analysed their duration and vowel centralization in (a) bare stem forms and (b) their s-suffixed forms. Using both nouns and verbs allowed us to compare the effects of our probabilistic measures on word forms with similar morphophonological structures (bare form vs. s-suffixed), but belonging to distinct morphological paradigms. The results show that when paradigmatic probability is high, verb stem duration decreases. At the same time, higher inflectional entropy conditions both longer verb stem duration, and decreased vowel dispersion. Further, the effects on verb stem duration are strongest when contextual probability within the sentence is highest. We account for these results in the context of exemplar-theoretic models of lexical storage, and propose that contextual probability and inflectional entropy influence how speakers navigate the stored exemplars of an inflectional paradigm. When contextual and paradigmatic probability are high, speakers retrieve exemplars in a way similar to whole-word retrieval, while lower contextual probability and higher inflectional entropy shifts the process towards something that resembles computation. Yet, we conclude, our exemplar-based model allows us to understand both types of retrieval as instantiations of the same process.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Additional Information: eISBN: 9783110783452
• Status: In Press
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Cohen, Dr Clara
• Authors: Cohen, C., and Carlson, M. T.
• Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology; P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• ISBN: 9783110772517