Pre-attentive phonotactic processing

This research program connects cognitive neuroscience with linguistic phonological theory. It applies cognitive neuroscientific investigation of event-related potentials (ERP), using mismatch negativitity (MMN) paradigms, to phonotactic restrictions that stem from the phonological constraint of Dorsal Fricative Assimilation in German. Special attention is given to the question of the (psychologically) pre-attentive status of phonotactic processing, which meets with the (linguistic) expectation that linguistic competence is put to use without a conscious effort. In cross-linguistic experimental protocols using identical stimulation for both language groups, the effects of Dorsal Fricative Assimilation in speakers of Standard German are investigated in comparison with speakers of Swiss German, with no active constraint of Dorsal Fricative Assimilation. The experiments investigate the effects of the phonological constraint in pre-attentive processing, the relevance of lexical access for these effects, and the occurrence of frequency effects in this connection.

DFG Programme Priority Programmes

Subproject of SPP 1234:  Phonological and Phonetic Competence: Between Grammar, Signal Processing and Neural Activity

Participating Person Professor Hubert Truckenbrodt, Ph.D.