Treffer: jTRACE: A reimplementation and extension of the TRACE model of speech perception and spoken word recognition

This paper describes jTRACE, a freely-available, cross-platform reimplementation of the TRACE model of speech perception and spoken word recognition in Java. The goal of the reimplementation is to facilitate the use of simulations by researchers who may not have the skills necessary to use the original C implementation of TRACE. In this paper, we report a large scale validation project, in which we have replicated a number of important previous simulations, and then we describe several new features in jTRACE designed to help researchers conduct original TRACE research as well as to replicate earlier findings. These include visualization tools, powerful scripting, built-in data analysis and graphing, stochasticity, and save/load functions that facilitate archiving and sharing simulations. Overview TRACE (McClelland and Elman, 1986) is arguably the best psychological model of speech processing to date, as it is able to simulate the deepest and broadest range of empirical phenomena. However, it is not widely used. One obstacle is that the original implementation in the C programming language is opaque to the average psychologist (or even the average programmer). We present jTRACE, a user-friendly, cross-platform and free software tool that reimplements the TRACE model in the Java programming language. Researchers at different technical levels have different modeling needs. jTRACE accommodates most of these needs, hiding details from the beginner, giving powerful scripting tools to the advanced user, and providing a basis for easy extensibility by programmers. The introduction gives a primer on TRACE and the motivations for creating this tool. The second section reviews some old and new simulations that we have replicated with jTRACE. The third section describes the principal functions that make this an effective and versatile tool. Readers are encouraged to download jTRACE from