ABSTRACT
The ability to produce, perceive and comprehend speech is a remarkable human achievement. This chapter considers how familiar spoken words are recognized and how the meaning of words and sentences are derived. Linguists have traditionally placed great emphasis on the importance of phonemes in the representation of speech. Phonemes are categorical representations that distinguish between the sounds of different words. Action-based concepts, according to a grounded/embodied semantics viewpoint, should depend on parts of the brain representing the body and motor production which are primarily located in the parietal and frontal cortices. The chapter also considers the process of speech production. The idea that semantic memory is grounded solely in sensory and motor systems of the brain has, however, received criticism. Evidence from patients with acquired brain damage points to some separation between syntax and semantics.
