Subjects are most likely to confuse consonants that vary in only one feature.This evidence supports the idea that:
A) phonemes are compared with exemplars before recognition occurs.
B) phoneme recognition is essentially a template-matching process.
C) phonemes are recognized by their features.
D) phonemes must be segmented and analyzed before recognition occurs.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fact that subjects are most likely to confuse consonants that vary in only one feature suggests that they are recognizing phonemes by their features. This supports option C. It does not necessarily support option A, as exemplar comparison may not be affected by one feature difference. Option B, template-matching, does not account for the flexibility in recognizing phonemes that vary in one feature. Option D, segmentation and analysis, may be a prerequisite for recognizing phonemes, but it does not explain why one feature is more salient than others when distinguishing between phonemes.

Subjects Are Most Likely to Confuse Consonants That Vary in Only