PREVIEW

This chapter introduces some key issues in both visual and auditory perception that relate to language processing. By the end of the chapter you will know that:

• there are similarities as well as crucial differences in the perceptual processes involved in spoken and visual language comprehension;

• there are perceptual skills that are particularly important for efficient language processing;

• the language system influences the interpretation of perceptual cues.

Introduction

In this chapter, we consider some significant findings in both visual and auditory perception studies. In particular we consider those skills that are specifically language-oriented and which act as a pre-requisite for successful language processing. The chapter will also consider some of the findings from language acquisition that indicate the early stage at which these perceptual skills develop.

There are some issues that are common to both visual and spoken language processing, but – as we will see – there are also some issues that are unique to either modality. The common questions concern the nature of the information extracted in the early stages of the recognition process and how this information is extracted, the mapping from the input to the lexicon and the nature of any intervening units of analysis, and the time-course of the flow of information throughout the system.