delivers a raw sequence of phonetic segments to the phonological division of working memory. The phonological
integrative processor organizes this partial structure in accordance with the phonological principles of the language, in
particular creating syllable structures and candidate word boundaries. For instance, given the phonetic string /
aybiltforhawzəz/, it can tellthat the only place to put a legal Englishword boundary in the cluster /...ltf.../ is before
thef.
However, in order to determine the actual words being heard, the lexicon must be engaged. So the phonology
processor sends out a call to the lexicon:“Does anybody out there sound likethis?”(i.e. does the phonological
structureofanyitemmatch thisraw input?).And variouslexical itemspipeup,“Me!”(i.e.becomeactivated).By virtue
of becoming activated, though, a lexical item doesn't just activate its phonology: it also activates its syntax and
semantics, and thus establishespartialstructures inthose domains, linked tothephonology. Thatis, lexicalitems play a
crucial role in the interface processors.
The interface processor fro mphonology to syntax adds constraints fro mintonational structure to those provided by
lexical linking, creating somewhat fuller syntactic structures in working memory, linked to the phonological structure.
However, the syntactic structures are still incomplete, because phonological structure cannot fully determine syntactic
embedding (recall section 5.4). So then the syntactic integrative processor—the“parser”—elaborates these partial
structures, constructing more complete tree structures. In turn, these provide the cues necessary for the interface to
semantics: the syntax–semantics linking rules (sections 5.8 and 5.9) determine the relations among the word meanings
that the lexicon has delivered to the conceptual division of working memory. Finally, the conceptual integrative
processor combines this structure with contextual constraints (“pragmatics”) to construct the interpreted message.
In language production, the processor goes in the other direction, starting with an intended message in conceptual
structure. The conceptual processor sends a call to the lexicon:“Does anybody out there meanthis?”And various
candidates raise their hands:“Me!”and thereby become activated. But by virtue of becoming activated, they also
activate their syntax and phonology, and thus establish partial structures in those domains and partial linking to the
intended message. Then the phrasal constraints proliferate structure through syntax to phonology, until there is a
complete phonological structure that can be sent off to the interface to the motor system, there to be pronounced.
In broad outline this story parallelsthe“blueprints”for thehearer and speaker offered in recentsurveys by Cutler and
Clifton (1999) and Levelt (1999). What's important here is how naturally it follows from the character of the
competence theory.