Leading up the lexical garden path: Segmentation and ambiguity in spoken word recognition.

Two gating studies, a forced-choice identification study and 2 series of cross-modal repetition priming experiments, traced the time course of recognition of words with onset embeddings (captain) and short words in contexts that match (cap tucked) or mismatch (cap looking) with longer words. Results suggest that acoustic differences in embedded syllables assist the perceptual system in discriminating short words from the start of longer words. The ambiguity created by embedded words is therefore not as severe as predicted by models of spoken word recognition based on phonemic representations. These additional acoustic cues combine with post-offset information in identifying onset-embedded words in connected speech.