40720
2016
2018
eng
12
427
postprint
1
2018-06-06
2018-06-06
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An exploration of rhythmic grouping of speech sequences by french- and german-learning infants
Rhythm in music and speech can be characterized by a constellation of several acoustic cues. Individually, these cues have different effects on rhythmic perception: sequences of sounds alternating in duration are perceived as short-long pairs (weak-strong/iambicpattern), whereas sequences of sounds alternating in intensity or pitch are perceived as loud-soft, or high-low pairs (strong-weak/trochaic pattern). This perceptual bias-called the lambic-Trochaic Law (ITL) has been claimed to be an universal property of the auditory system applying in both the music and the language domains. Recent studies have shown that language experience can modulate the effects of the ITL on rhythmic perception of both speech and non-speech sequences in adults, and of non-speech sequences in 7.5-month-old infants. The goal of the present study was to explore whether language experience also modulates infants' grouping of speech. To do so, we presented sequences of syllables to monolingual French- and German-learning 7.5-month-olds. Using the Headturn Preference Procedure (HPP), we examined whether they were able to perceive a rhythmic structure in sequences of syllables that alternated in duration, pitch, or intensity. Our findings show that both French- and German-learning infants perceived a rhythmic structure when it was cued by duration or pitch but not intensity. Our findings also show differences in how these infants use duration and pitch cues to group syllable sequences, suggesting that pitch cues were the easier ones to use. Moreover, performance did not differ across languages, failing to reveal early language effects on rhythmic perception. These results contribute to our understanding of the origin of rhythmic perception and perceptual mechanisms shared across music and speech, which may bootstrap language acquisition.
Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe
urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-407201
online registration
Frontiers in human neuroscience 10 (2016) DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00292
CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International
Nawal Abboub
Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
Anjali Bhatara
Barbara Höhle
Thierry Nazzi
Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe
427
eng
uncontrolled
language acquisition
eng
uncontrolled
prosody
eng
uncontrolled
grouping
eng
uncontrolled
iambic-trochaic law
eng
uncontrolled
perceptual biases
eng
uncontrolled
french-learning infants
eng
uncontrolled
german-learning infants
Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften
open_access
Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät
Referiert
Open Access
Department Linguistik
Frontiers
Institut für Linguistik / Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft
Universität Potsdam
https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/files/40720/phr_427.online.pdf
45232
2016
2016
eng
6707
6712
12
10
article
Frontiers Research Foundation
Lausanne
1
--
--
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An Exploration of Rhythmic Grouping of Speech Sequences by French- and German-Learning Infants
Rhythm in music and speech can be characterized by a constellation of several acoustic cues. Individually, these cues have different effects on rhythmic perception: sequences of sounds alternating in duration are perceived as short-long pairs (weak-strong/iambic pattern), whereas sequences of sounds alternating in intensity or pitch are perceived as loud-soft, or high-low pairs (strong-weak/trochaic pattern). This perceptual bias—called the Iambic-Trochaic Law (ITL)–has been claimed to be an universal property of the auditory system applying in both the music and the language domains. Recent studies have shown that language experience can modulate the effects of the ITL on rhythmic perception of both speech and non-speech sequences in adults, and of non-speech sequences in 7.5-month-old infants. The goal of the present study was to explore whether language experience also modulates infants’ grouping of speech. To do so, we presented sequences of syllables to monolingual French- and German-learning 7.5-month-olds. Using the Headturn Preference Procedure (HPP), we examined whether they were able to perceive a rhythmic structure in sequences of syllables that alternated in duration, pitch, or intensity. Our findings show that both French- and German-learning infants perceived a rhythmic structure when it was cued by duration or pitch but not intensity. Our findings also show differences in how these infants use duration and pitch cues to group syllable sequences, suggesting that pitch cues were the easier ones to use. Moreover, performance did not differ across languages, failing to reveal early language effects on rhythmic perception. These results contribute to our understanding of the origin of rhythmic perception and perceptual mechanisms shared across music and speech, which may bootstrap language acquisition.
Frontiers in human neuroscienc
10.3389/fnhum.2016.00292
1662-5161
wos2016:2019
WOS:000377669000001
Abboub, N (reprint author), Univ Paris 05, Lab Psychol Percept, Paris, France.; Abboub, N (reprint author), CNRS, Lab Psychol Percept, Paris, France., n.abboub@gmail.com
Agence Nationale de la Recherche-Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [ANR-13-FRAL-0010, DFG Ho 1960/15-1]; Labex EFL [ANR-10-LABX-0083]
importub
2020-03-22T16:48:01+00:00
filename=package.tar
50978bcf708e96d82821b3a0420af4f9
Nawal Abboub
Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
Anjali Bhatara
Barbara Höhle
Thierry Nazzi
eng
uncontrolled
language acquisition
eng
uncontrolled
prosody
eng
uncontrolled
grouping
eng
uncontrolled
iambic-trochaic law
eng
uncontrolled
perceptual biases
eng
uncontrolled
french-learning infants
eng
uncontrolled
german-learning infants
Referiert
Exzellenzbereich Kognitionswissenschaften
Import