2024 Talker Familiarity as a Window into the Cognitive Architecture of Language

While "a link" between language perception and production is axiomatic, theories differ extensively on what this link might resemble. One crucial question in this debate is whether these two modes of language use shared representations. Talker representations, formed exclusively through perception, present a unique opportunity to study the link between perception and production. We present three experiments that investigate the potential role of talker representations in speech production, as manifested in their impact on phonetic alignment to voice fundamental frequency (F0). In Experiment 1, female native Dutch speakers (N=32) performed a baseline reading task, followed by a synchronous speech task where they were instructed to synchronize (temporally) to a pre-recorded model talker. The model talker’s voice was pitch-shifted to have high or low F0, and half of the sample performed the task in each F0 condition. We found that participants’ F0 values tended to align with that of the model talker. In Experiment 2, we added an exposure task between reading and synchronous speech, during which participants (N=32) were familiarized with the same model talker at high or low F0. In the synchronous speech task, they heard the model talker at the familiar F0 condition. Finally, in Experiment 3, we reversed the F0 manipulation between exposure and test. Thus, participants (N=32) were familiarized with high or low F0 per their group, but heard the opposite F0 condition during synchronous speech. Cross-experiment analyses revealed that while congruent and conflicting talker information both diminish the effect size of alignment, only conflicting talker information reduces the probability of alignment. These results indicate that talker information acquired exclusively through perception is used during production.