motor theory

A term used in PHONETICS and PSYCHOLINGUISTICS to refer to a theory of SPEECH PERCEPTION which proposes that the brain of the listener constructs a MODEL of the ARTICULATORY (‘motor’) movements being produced by the speaker. It is not usually interpreted as someone having to ‘talk in parallel’ (i.e. subvocally) while listening – a view for which there is little support – but, rather, as an abstract mechanism, or model, which can help explain the indirect correspondences between the features of the ACOUSTIC signal and the SEGMENTS the listener actually perceives.