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9 - The Automatic Selective Perception Model

from Part II - Theoretical Models of Bilingual Phonetics and Phonology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2024

By
Valerie L. Shafer
Edited by
Mark Amengual
Mark Amengual
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz
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Summary

The Automatic Selective Perception (ASP) model posits that listeners make use of selective perceptual routines (SPRs) that are fast and efficient for recovering lexical meaning. These SPRs serve as filters to accentuate relevant cues and minimize irrelevant information. Years of experience with the first language (L1) lead to fairly automatic L1 SPRs; consequently, few attentional resources are needed in processing L1 speech. In contrast, L2 SPRs are less automatic. Under difficult task or stimulus conditions, listeners fall back on more automatic processes, specifically L1 SPRs. And L2 speech perception suffers where there is a mismatch between the L1 and the L2 phonetics because L1 SPRs may not extract the important cues needed for identifying L2 phonemes. This chapter will present behavioral and neurophysiology evidence that supports the ASP model, but which also indicates the need for some modification. We offer suggestions for future directions in extending this model.

Keywords

second language speech perceptionspeech perceptionspeechAutomatic Selective Perception modelspeech perception developmentphoneticsspeech discriminationmismatch negativityelectrophysiologybrainevent-related potentialsauditory evoked potentials

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The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingual Phonetics and Phonology , pp. 196 - 216
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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