The McGurk effect is a well-known experiment in which, while hearing a given phoneme and seeing someone pronouncing another phoneme, we “hear” the second one instead of the first one, the correct one. This seems to mean that the auditory perception of a phoneme is already processed, it is savikalpa. Try the McGurk effect in the following video:
Now, the problem is that, after many trials, this does not work with me. I guess that this might have to do with the fact that I am not an English Native speaker and that, accordingly, I process the image of someone pronouncing the second phoneme in a non-automatic way (after all, /f/ as pronounced in my native language is probably not pronounced with the same lip movement).
What do you think, does it work with you? If yes or if no, what is your native language
It works with me, and as you know my native language is German.
Best,
Petra
thanks. Interesting. I asked another Italian Native Speaker, who said he hears /pa/ and /va/… (thus, it works with him, too).
There are many endogenous and exogenous factors that can influence the McGurk effect, including the language being spoken. Are you a native Italian speaker? See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2816368/ for a study of the effect in Italian speakers. It does seem to be a savikalpa phenomenon. However, I’m not sure whether the standard cognitive science view of perception leaves much room for nirvikalpa pratyakṣa, though I suppose that would depend on whether we take the distinction to be causal or epistemic or phenomenological (when we try to relate it to cognitive science views of perception).
Thank you, Evan! The results of the article fit nicely with what Petra wrote (the McGurk effect is said to work with German Native Speakers) and with my colleague’s experience (see my other comment) (the McGurk effect is said to work with Italian Native Speakers, but in a different way than with English and German Native Speakers). As for me… I remain an oddity.