Separable processing of consonants and vowels

Alfonso Caramazza (), Doriana Chialant, Rita Capasso and Gabriele Miceli ()
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Alfonso Caramazza: Cognitive Neuropsychology Laboratory, Harvard University
Doriana Chialant: Cognitive Neuropsychology Laboratory, Harvard University
Rita Capasso: Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico S. Lucia
Gabriele Miceli: Università Cattolica

Nature, 2000, vol. 403, issue 6768, 428-430

Abstract: Abstract There are two views about the nature of consonants and vowels. One view holds that they are categorically distinct objects that play a fundamental role in the construction of syllables in speech production1,2,3. The other view is that they are convenient labels for distinguishing between peak (vowel) and non-peak (consonant) parts of a continuous stream of sound that varies in sonority (roughly the degree of openness of the vocal apparatus during speech)4,5,6, or that they are summary labels for bundles of feature segments7,8. Taking the latter view, consonants and vowels do not have an independent status in language processing. Here we provide evidence for the possible categorical distinction between consonants and vowels in the brain. We report the performance of two Italian-speaking aphasics who show contrasting, selective difficulties in producing vowels and consonants. Their performance in producing individual consonants is independent of the sonority value and feature properties of the consonants. This pattern of results suggests that consonants and vowels are processed by distinct neural mechanisms, thereby providing evidence for their independent status in language production.

Date: 2000
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DOI: 10.1038/35000206

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