Psycholinguistics: Speech Errors 1.2
This exercise will give you more practice recognizing various speech errors (SE). Just a few comments before you begin.
SEs occur within specific levels of language processing. Some are discrete (occur at one level, e.g. phonological), some are blended (involve errors at more than one level, e.g., phonological and semantic).
SEs also occur in various domains, such as word internal, across syllable/word boundaries, and at the phrasal level.
For each example in this exercise, select the term that best describes the SE.
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Question 1 |
She decides to hit it → She decide to hits it
A | Transposition Hint: This is transposition because the final sound of the word ‘decide’ moves the the final position of the word ‘hit’. |
B | Anticipation Hint: Anticipation is an error in which a sound segment in a word later in the utterance is used in an earlier word in the utterance. |
C | Metathesis Hint: Metathesis is an error in which two sound segments replace each other. |
Question 2 |
A reading list → A leading list
A | Metathesis Hint: Metathesis is an error in which two sound segments replace each other. Only one sound segment is changed in this example. |
B | Perseverance Hint: Perseverance is an error where a sound segment in a word early in the utterance lingers and is used in a later word in the utterance.
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C | Anticipation Hint: This is anticipation because the initial sound of the later word ‘list’ influences the initial sound of the earlier word ‘reading’. |
Question 3 |
Singing their tune → Stinging their tune
A | Blending Hint: In examples of blending two words are combined to form a single word. |
B | Addition Hint: This is addition because the sound /t/ has been added to the word ‘singing’. |
C | Transposition Hint: Transposition is an error in which a sound segment is moved from one part of an utterance to another. |
Question 4 |
Cup of coffee → Coff of cuppy
A | Metathesis Hint: In this example the sound segment /ʌp/ in cup is exchanged with the /ɔf/ sound segment in coffee. |
B | Blending Hint: In examples of blending two words are combined to form a single word. |
C | Transposition Hint: Transposition is an error in which a sound segment is moved from one part of an utterance to another. In this example more than one sound segment has been moved. |
Question 5 |
Brake fluid → Blake fruid
A | Metathesis Hint: This is metathesis because the second sounds of each word are switched. |
B | Transposition Hint: Transposition is an error in which a sound segment is moved from one part of an utterance to another. In this example more than one sound segment has been moved. |
C | Blending Hint: In examples of blending two words are combined to form a single word. |
Question 6 |
Cell phone → Fell phone
A | Anticipation Hint: This is anticipation because the initial sound of the word ‘phone’ influences the initial sound of the earlier word ‘cell’. |
B | Blending Hint: In examples of blending two words are combined to form a single word. |
C | Transposition Hint: Transposition is an error in which a sound segment is moved from one part of an utterance to another. |
Question 7 |
Speech error → Peach error
A | Omission Hint: In this example the initial sound segment /s/ of the word speech has been omitted from the utterance. |
B | Perseverance Hint: Perseverance is an error where a sound segment in a word early in the utterance lingers and is used in a later word in the utterance. |
C | Metathesis Hint: Metathesis is an error in which two sound segments replace each other. In this example only one sound segment is involved. |
Question 8 |
Optimal number → Moptimal number
A | Metathesis Hint: Metathesis is an error in which two sound segments replace each other. |
B | Addition Hint: This is addition because the sound /m/ has been added to the front of the word optimal. |
C | Transposition Hint: Transposition is an error in which a sound segment is moved from one part of an utterance to another. |
Question 9 |
Hiring faculty → Firing faculty
A | Perseverance Hint: Perseverance is an error where a sound segment in a word early in the utterance lingers and is used in a later word in the utterance. |
B | Anticipation Hint: This is anticipation because the initial sound of the later word ‘faculty’ influences the initial sound of the earlier word ‘hiring’.
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C | Transposition Hint: Transposition is an error in which a sound segment is moved from one part of an utterance to another. |
Question 10 |
Hop on one foot → Fop on one foot
A | Anticipation Hint: This is anticipation because the initial sound of the final word ‘foot’ influences the initial sound of the earlier word ‘hop’. |
B | Transposition Hint: Transposition is an error in which a sound segment is moved from one part of an utterance to another. |
C | Perseverance Hint: Perseverance is an error where a sound segment in a word early in the utterance lingers and is used in a later word in the utterance. |
Question 11 |
In the middle of the night → In the middle of the might
A | Omission Hint: Omission is an error in which a sound segment is omitted from the utterance.
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B | Perseverance Hint: This is perseverance because the initial sound of the earlier word ‘middle’ influences the initial sound of the later word ‘night’. |
C | Anticipation Hint: Anticipation is an error in which a sound segment in a word later in the utterance is used in an earlier word in the utterance.
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Question 12 |
Left hemisphere → Heft lemisphere
A | Transposition Hint: Transposition is an error in which a sound segment is moved from one part of an utterance to another. |
B | Anticipation Hint: Anticipation is an error in which a sound segment in a word later in the utterance is used in an earlier word in the utterance.
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C | Metathesis Hint: In this example the initial sounds of both words have been exchanged. |
Question 13 |
Please set the table → Please set the chair
A | Perseverance Hint: Perseverance is an error where a sound segment in a word early in the utterance lingers and is used in a later word in the utterance. |
B | Omission Hint: Omission is an error in which a sound segment is omitted from the utterance. |
C | Substitution Hint: In this example, the lexical item ‘chair has replaced ‘table’. |
Question 14 |
Two hundred trucks → Two hundred tucks
A | Omission Hint: This is omission because the second sound of the word truck has been omitted.
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B | Anticipation Hint: Anticipation is an error in which a sound segment in a word later in the utterance is used in an earlier word in the utterance. |
C | Metathesis Hint: Metathesis is an error in which two sound segments replace each other. |
Question 15 |
A book read by six people → A book read by six books
A | Metathesis Hint: Metathesis is an error in which two sound segments replace each other. |
B | Omission Hint: Omission is an error in which a sound segment is omitted from the utterance. |
C | Perseverance Hint: This is perseverance of a whole word. The earlier occurring word book is repeated later in the utterance in place of the word ‘people’. |
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