Phonological segments and features as planning units in speech production

The author reports four experiments that examined phonological processes in spoken word production. A form-preparation paradigm was applied to the que stion of whether phonological features can be preplanned to facilitate spok en word production. In Experiment 1, monosyllabic words were produced in se ts different in form, or in sets sharing either the initial segment or init ial segments differing only in voicing. Only shared initial segments yielde d facilitation. A similar pattern of results was observed when the sets wer e matched for the following vowel (Experiment 2), when words were produced in response to pictured objects (Experiment 3), and when place of articulat ion rather than voicing was manipulated (Experiment 4). The special status of identity suggests that segments are planning units independent of their features. The results are explained in terms of the WEAVER model of word-fo rm encoding, in which a serial encoding of segments is followed by a parall el activation of features. A WEAVER simulation of the experiments is presen ted which supports these claims.