The time course of lexical access in speech production: A study of naming

Lexical access in object naming involves the activation of a set of lexical candidates, the selection of the appropriate {or target) item, and the phonological encoding of that item. Two views of lexical access in naming are compared. From one view, the 2-stage theory, phonological activation follows selection of the target item and is restricted to that item. From the other view, which is most explicit in activation-spreading theories, all activated lexical candidates are phonologically activated to some extent. A series of experiments is reported in which subjects performed acoustic lexical decision during object naming at different stimulus-onset asynchronies. The experiments show semantic activation of lexical candidates and phonological activation of the target item, but no phonological activation of other semantically activated items. This supports the 2-stage view. More-over, a mathematical model embodying the 2-stage view is fully compatible with the lexical deci-sion data obtained at different stimulus-onset asynchronies. One of a speaker's core skills is to lexicalize the concepts intended for expression. Lexicalization proceeds at a rateof two to three words per second in normal spontaneous speech, but doubling this rate is possible and not exceptional. The skill o