Although the ability to understand speech in adverse listening conditions is paramount for effective communication across the life span, little is understood about how this critical processing skill develops. This study asks how the dynamics of spoken word recognition (i.e., lexical access and competition) change during soft speech in 8‐ to 11‐year‐olds (n = 26). Lexical competition and access for speech at lower intensity levels was measured using eye‐tracking and the visual world paradigm. Overall the results suggest that soft speech influences the magnitude and timing of lexical access and competition. These results suggest that lexical competition is a cognitive process that can be adapted in the school‐age years to help cope with increased uncertainty due to alterations in the speech signal.

中文翻译：

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学龄儿童在次优聆听条件下适应词汇竞争的动态

尽管在不利的聆听条件下理解语音的能力对于在整个生命周期中进行有效的交流至关重要，但对于这种关键处理技能的发展方式知之甚少。这项研究询问了在8到11岁（n  = 26）的儿童中，软语音期间口头单词识别的动态（即词汇访问和竞争）如何变化。使用眼动追踪和视觉世界范式来衡量在较低强度水平下的词汇竞争和言语可及性。总体而言，结果表明，软语音会影响词汇访问和竞争的幅度和时间。这些结果表明，词汇竞争是一种认知过程，可以在学龄期进行调整，以帮助应对由于语音信号变化而增加的不确定性。