Research

My primary research questions have centered around foundational issues in phonetics and speech processing. How is it that humans hear a continuous stream of soundwaves and are able to convert it into recognizable phonemes? What is universal in this process and what is language-specific? What tools can we bring to this investigation to explore the question from different angles? I work to address these questions by leveraging acoustic, computational, neuro/psycholinguistic, and behavioral methods to study two interrelated topics, outlined below. Reach out to me if you would like access to these articles or if you want to learn more!

1. How acoustic cues are encoded and categorized as speech sounds
This line of work asks what the role of acoustic cues is in mapping continuous acoustic information onto abstract linguistic categories. Much of this work has used computational models to consider how different types of acoustic information are integrated in phonological contrasts. Furthermore, while many linguistic theories have been put forward to account for the mapping of phonetic input onto abstract phonological representations, few of these theories have neuroscientific backing. My work aims to bridge this gap. My work on this topic has included:

  • Repetti-Ludlow, C., Toscano, J., Bjorndahl, C., Shinn-Cunningham, B. 2025. EEG evidence for acoustic cue weights in speech perception. Society for the Neurobiology of Language 17, Washington D.C., USA, September 12-14, 2025.
  • Repetti-Ludlow, C. 2023. Acoustic correlates of Burmese voiced and voiceless sonorants. Phonetica, 80(6),1-31.
  • Buchwald, A., Repetti-Ludlow, C., & Cheng, H-S. “Anodal tDCS targeting left premotor/motor cortices enhances speech motor learning” Madonna Conference on Motor Speech, Santa Barbara, CA, February 20-23, 2020.

2. Factors that shape variability in the perception and production of language
The second strand of my research focuses on factors that condition variability in speech using acoustic and computational methods. By linking production and perception variability to conditioning factors, my work provides key data for developing frameworks that capture realistic variation in speech. My work on this topic has included:

  • Cournane, A. Dieuleveut, A., Repetti-Ludlow, C., Hacquard, V. 2025. Word learning challenges explain non-adult possibility language comprehension in preschoolers. Developmental Psychology.
  • Repetti-Ludlow, C. 2024. The realization of /t/ and /ən/ in words like ‘button’: A change in progress on Long Island. American Speech, 1-20.
  • Repetti-Ludlow, C. 2023. Roman tablets as linguistic corpora: Evidence for phonological variation in 2nd c. Latin. Journal of Latin Linguistics 22(2),215-233.
  • Repetti-Ludlow, C. & MacKenzie, L. 2022. Regularization in the face of variable input: Children’s acquisition of stem-final fricative plurals in American English. Linguistics Vanguard 8(1), 249-261.
  • Repetti-Ludlow, C., Zhang, H., Lucitante, H., AnderBois, S., Sanker, C. 2019. A’ingae (Cofán). Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 1-14.