Towards an Understanding of Perceptual Illusions in Language and Speech: A Cross-Linguistic Perspective

Abstract

Perceptual illusions in language and speech reveal how listeners interpret auditory input in ways that deviate from the acoustic signals they receive. These phenomena shed light on the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying speech perception, shaped by linguistic and cultural factors. This paper reviews four key perceptual illusions: phonemic restoration, the McGurk effect, verbal transformation, and auditory streaming, examining their manifestation across different languages, including Persian, Turkish, Japanese, and English. By integrating findings from diverse linguistic studies, this paper highlights the interplay between universal perceptual processes and language-specific influences, with implications for speech recognition technology, language learning, and clinical applications.