Listeners' reactions to mild misarticulation of /l/.

Adult listeners heard a 98-word recording of a speaker producing either normal speech, speech containing a single instance of a w/l substitution, or speech containing 10 instances of a w/l substitution. They rated the speaker on 13 bipolar scales, representing three dimensions of judgment. Findings suggest that even a single misarticulation of /l/ was sufficient to generate a negative impression on the dimension of evaluation. Speech with only a single misarticulation was rated as no different from normal speech on dimensions of activity and potency.