Relationship between perception and production (funded by NSF BCS 1734166 and NSF BCS 2117665)
In this set of projects, we examine how perception and production are related during learning. Some projects under this larger project include:

  • Production-based sources of disruption in perceptual learning (with Arty Samuel – Stony Brook University and The Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language)

  • The role of explicit category knowledge in mediating the relationship between the two modalities (with Misaki Kato)

  • Longitudinal relationship between the two modalities (with Charlie Nagle - Iowa State University)

  • Production learning in the absence of perceptual learning

  • Emergence of learning in perception and production.

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Perception of unfamiliar speech

  • In this set of projects we ask how listeners are able to process speakers and speech that is unfamiliar to them (e.g., a speaker with a different native language background than their own). We focus especially on how listeners can adapt to this unfamiliar speech over time. Some ongoing projects under this umbrella include:

    • How is higher level processing impacted by improved speech perception (with Susannah Levi; funded by NSF Grant BCS 2020805)

    • The role of incentive in adaptation to unfamiliar speech (with Glen Waddell)

    • Investigating potential tradeoffs in specificity/generalizability after different exposure to unfamiliar speech and speakers.

    • How does linguistic and physical context impact speech perception? For example, how does hospital noise impact perception of medically related speech (with Tessa Bent, Natalie Manley, & Erica Ryherd; funded by a James S. McDonnell Opportunity Award).

    • Adaptation to native speakers by non-native listeners

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Neural mechanisms underlying second language learning

  • In this project, we investigate the neural mechanisms underlying second language speech sound learning using a combination of behavioral experiments in humans, behavioral experiments in mice, and physiological measures in mice (with Santiago Jaramillo; funded by NSF Grant IIS 2024926)

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Variability in Native and Non-Native Speech

  • In this set of projects, we examine how variability manifests for native and non-native speakers in their language production. We ask whether we might be able to predict cases in which learning appropriate variability in a new language might be particularly difficult. Some projects under this larger project include:

    • Variability in native and non-native speaking rate (with Tuuli Morrill)

    • Clear speech produced by native and non-native speakers

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Speech Rate, Speech Rhythm, and Non-Native Speech

  • In this set of projects, we examine whether expectations derived from speaking rate and speech rhythm are different when listening to non-native speakers or when non-native listeners hear native speakers.

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Speech Errors in Naturally Occurring Speech

  • In this set of projects, we examine properties of speech errors from naturally occurring speech in Mandarin and Cantonese (with John Alderete, funded by SSHRC)

Lexically Conditioned Phonetic Variation

  • In this set of projects, we examine how lexical properties of a word (e.g., neighborhood density and word frequency) influence phonetic variation in those words. Some projects under this larger project include:

    • Frequency and neighborhood density effects in children’s speech (with Katherine White – University of Waterloo)

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A number of other projects are also currently taking place in the lab. Some of these include:

Ongoing student-led projects include

  • How do members of the Latinx community perceive Spanish Heritage speech/speakers? (Cecelia Staggs; supported by an NSF GRFP)

  • What factors impact generalization to novel talkers and accents after adaptation to unfamiliar speech? (Daeyong Lee)

  • How can we leverage implicit learning for better learning outcomes of lexical tone categories in Thai? (Jonathan Wright; funded by NSF Grant BCS 2017285)