Language generality in phonological encoding: Moving beyond Indo-European languages

Abstract

Theories of phonological encoding are centred on the selection and activation of phonological segments, and how these segments are organised in word and syllable structures in online processes of speech planning. The focus on segments, however, is due to an over-weighting of evidence from Indo-European languages, because languages outside this family exhibit strikingly different behaviour and require the processing of additional phonological structures. We review evidence from speech error patterns, priming and form encoding studies, and re-syllabification in several non-Indo-European languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese. We argue that these languages deepen our understanding of the nature of phonological encoding because they require recognising language-particular differences in: the first selectable (proximate) units of phonological encoding, the phonological units processed as word beginnings, the dynamics of syllable emergence during encoding, and the varied manifestations of re-syllabification. A satisfactory and general account of phonological encoding must incorporate these rich phenomena.