The strongest evidence for independence of planning units is that:
A) speakers never produce more than one error in the same sentence
B) no two speakers have ever made the same speech error
C) speakers tend to make mistakes at a single stage, leaving the rest of the utterance intact
D) speakers tend to make mistakes at a single stage, which causes predictable errors at all other stages.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

If speakers tend to make mistakes at a single stage, but leave the rest of the utterance intact, it suggests that each stage of language production is independent of the others. If planning units were not independent, making an error at one stage could potentially disrupt the whole utterance. The fact that errors tend to be isolated to a single stage supports the idea that each planning unit operates independently. Choices A and B are incorrect because they make extreme claims that are not supported by research. Choice D is incorrect because it suggests that errors at one stage always cause errors at all other stages, which is not necessarily the case.

The Strongest Evidence for Independence of Planning Units Is That