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Liu L, Götz A, Lorette P, Tyler MD. How Tone, Intonation and Emotion Shape the Development of Infants’ Fundamental Frequency Perception. Front Psychol 2022; 13:906848. [PMID: 35719494 PMCID: PMC9204181 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.906848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Fundamental frequency (ƒ0), perceived as pitch, is the first and arguably most salient auditory component humans are exposed to since the beginning of life. It carries multiple linguistic (e.g., word meaning) and paralinguistic (e.g., speakers’ emotion) functions in speech and communication. The mappings between these functions and ƒ0 features vary within a language and differ cross-linguistically. For instance, a rising pitch can be perceived as a question in English but a lexical tone in Mandarin. Such variations mean that infants must learn the specific mappings based on their respective linguistic and social environments. To date, canonical theoretical frameworks and most empirical studies do not view or consider the multi-functionality of ƒ0, but typically focus on individual functions. More importantly, despite the eventual mastery of ƒ0 in communication, it is unclear how infants learn to decompose and recognize these overlapping functions carried by ƒ0. In this paper, we review the symbioses and synergies of the lexical, intonational, and emotional functions that can be carried by ƒ0 and are being acquired throughout infancy. On the basis of our review, we put forward the Learnability Hypothesis that infants decompose and acquire multiple ƒ0 functions through native/environmental experiences. Under this hypothesis, we propose representative cases such as the synergy scenario, where infants use visual cues to disambiguate and decompose the different ƒ0 functions. Further, viable ways to test the scenarios derived from this hypothesis are suggested across auditory and visual modalities. Discovering how infants learn to master the diverse functions carried by ƒ0 can increase our understanding of linguistic systems, auditory processing and communication functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liquan Liu
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Center for Multilingualism in Society Across the Lifespan, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- *Correspondence: Liquan Liu,
| | - Antonia Götz
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Pernelle Lorette
- Department of English Linguistics, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Michael D. Tyler
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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Lau JCY, Fyshe A, Waxman SR. Rhythm May Be Key to Linking Language and Cognition in Young Infants: Evidence From Machine Learning. Front Psychol 2022; 13:894405. [PMID: 35693512 PMCID: PMC9178268 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.894405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhythm is key to language acquisition. Across languages, rhythmic features highlight fundamental linguistic elements of the sound stream and structural relations among them. A sensitivity to rhythmic features, which begins in utero, is evident at birth. What is less clear is whether rhythm supports infants' earliest links between language and cognition. Prior evidence has documented that for infants as young as 3 and 4 months, listening to their native language (English) supports the core cognitive capacity of object categorization. This precocious link is initially part of a broader template: listening to a non-native language from the same rhythmic class as (e.g., German, but not Cantonese) and to vocalizations of non-human primates (e.g., lemur, Eulemur macaco flavifrons, but not birds e.g., zebra-finches, Taeniopygia guttata) provide English-acquiring infants the same cognitive advantage as does listening to their native language. Here, we implement a machine-learning (ML) approach to ask whether there are acoustic properties, available on the surface of these vocalizations, that permit infants' to identify which vocalizations are candidate links to cognition. We provided the model with a robust sample of vocalizations that, from the vantage point of English-acquiring 4-month-olds, either support object categorization (English, German, lemur vocalizations) or fail to do so (Cantonese, zebra-finch vocalizations). We assess (a) whether supervised ML classification models can distinguish those vocalizations that support cognition from those that do not, and (b) which class(es) of acoustic features (including rhythmic, spectral envelope, and pitch features) best support that classification. Our analysis reveals that principal components derived from rhythm-relevant acoustic features were among the most robust in supporting the classification. Classifications performed using temporal envelope components were also robust. These new findings provide in principle evidence that infants' earliest links between vocalizations and cognition may be subserved by their perceptual sensitivity to rhythmic and spectral elements available on the surface of these vocalizations, and that these may guide infants' identification of candidate links to cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph C. Y. Lau
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Alona Fyshe
- Department of Computing Science and Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Sandra R. Waxman
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
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Arjmandi M, Houston D, Wang Y, Dilley L. Estimating the reduced benefit of infant-directed speech in cochlear implant-related speech processing. Neurosci Res 2021; 171:49-61. [PMID: 33484749 PMCID: PMC8289972 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2021.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 12/19/2020] [Accepted: 01/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Caregivers modify their speech when talking to infants, a specific type of speech known as infant-directed speech (IDS). This speaking style facilitates language learning compared to adult-directed speech (ADS) in infants with normal hearing (NH). While infants with NH and those with cochlear implants (CIs) prefer listening to IDS over ADS, it is yet unknown how CI processing may affect the acoustic distinctiveness between ADS and IDS, as well as the degree of intelligibility of these. This study analyzed speech of seven female adult talkers to model the effects of simulated CI processing on (1) acoustic distinctiveness between ADS and IDS, (2) estimates of intelligibility of caregivers' speech in ADS and IDS, and (3) individual differences in caregivers' ADS-to-IDS modification and estimated speech intelligibility. Results suggest that CI processing is substantially detrimental to the acoustic distinctiveness between ADS and IDS, as well as to the intelligibility benefit derived from ADS-to-IDS modifications. Moreover, the observed variability across individual talkers in acoustic implementation of ADS-to-IDS modification and the estimated speech intelligibility was significantly reduced due to CI processing. The findings are discussed in the context of the link between IDS and language learning in infants with CIs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meisam Arjmandi
- Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University, 1026 Red Cedar Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
| | - Derek Houston
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, The Ohio State University, 915 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, OH 43212, USA
| | - Yuanyuan Wang
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, The Ohio State University, 915 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, OH 43212, USA
| | - Laura Dilley
- Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University, 1026 Red Cedar Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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Hay JF, Cannistraci RA, Zhao Q. Mapping non-native pitch contours to meaning: Perceptual and experiential factors. JOURNAL OF MEMORY AND LANGUAGE 2019; 105:131-140. [PMID: 31244505 PMCID: PMC6594708 DOI: 10.1016/j.jml.2018.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Infants show interesting patterns of flexibility and constraint early in word learning. Here, we explore perceptual and experiential factors that drive associative learning of labels that differ in pitch contour. Contrary to the salience hypothesis proposed in Experiment 1, English-learning 14-month-olds failed to map acoustically distinctive level and dipping labels to novel referents, even though they discriminated the labels when no potential referents were present. Conversely, infants readily mapped the less distinctive rising and dipping labels. In Experiment 2, we found that the degree of pitch variation in labels also does not account for learning. Instead, English-learning infants only learned if one of the labels had a rising pitch contour. We argue that experience with hearing and/or producing native language prosody may lead infants to initially over-interpret the role rising pitch plays in differentiating words. Together, our findings suggest that multiple factors contribute to whether specific acoustic forms will function as candidate object labels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica F. Hay
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Department of Psychology, United States
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Reimchen M, Soderstrom M. Do Questions Get Infants Talking? Infant Vocal Responses to Questions and Declaratives in Maternal Speech. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/icd.1985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Reimchen
- Department of Psychology; University of Manitoba; Winnipeg Canada
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Dingemanse M, Torreira F, Enfield NJ. Is "huh?" a universal word? Conversational infrastructure and the convergent evolution of linguistic items. PLoS One 2013; 8:e78273. [PMID: 24260108 PMCID: PMC3832628 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2013] [Accepted: 09/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A word like Huh?–used as a repair initiator when, for example, one has not clearly heard what someone just said– is found in roughly the same form and function in spoken languages across the globe. We investigate it in naturally occurring conversations in ten languages and present evidence and arguments for two distinct claims: that Huh? is universal, and that it is a word. In support of the first, we show that the similarities in form and function of this interjection across languages are much greater than expected by chance. In support of the second claim we show that it is a lexical, conventionalised form that has to be learnt, unlike grunts or emotional cries. We discuss possible reasons for the cross-linguistic similarity and propose an account in terms of convergent evolution. Huh? is a universal word not because it is innate but because it is shaped by selective pressures in an interactional environment that all languages share: that of other-initiated repair. Our proposal enhances evolutionary models of language change by suggesting that conversational infrastructure can drive the convergent cultural evolution of linguistic items.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Dingemanse
- Language and Cognition Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Francisco Torreira
- Language and Cognition Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - N. J. Enfield
- Language and Cognition Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Ma W, Golinkoff RM, Houston D, Hirsh-Pasek K. Word Learning in Infant- and Adult-Directed Speech. LANGUAGE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT 2011; 7:185-201. [PMID: 29129970 PMCID: PMC5679190 DOI: 10.1080/15475441.2011.579839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Infant-directed speech (IDS), compared with adult-directed speech (ADS), is characterized by a slower rate, a higher fundamental frequency, greater pitch variations, longer pauses, repetitive intonational structures, and shorter sentences. Despite studies on the properties of IDS, there is no direct demonstration of its effects for word learning in infants. This study examined whether 21- and 27-month-old children learned novel words better in IDS than in ADS. Two major findings emerged. First, 21-month-olds reliably learned words only in the IDS condition, although children with relatively larger vocabulary than their peers learned in the ADS condition as well. Second, 27-month-olds reliably learned the words in the ADS condition. These results support the implicitly held assumption that IDS does in fact facilitate word mapping at the start of lexical acquisition and that its influence wanes as language development proceeds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiyi Ma
- School of Foreign Languages, Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
| | - Roberta Michnick Golinkoff
- School of Education, and Departments of Psychology and Linguistic and Cognitive Science, University of Delaware
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Niwano K, Sugai K. Maternal accommodation in infant-directed speech during mother's and twin-infants' vocal interactions. Psychol Rep 2003; 92:481-7. [PMID: 12785629 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.2003.92.2.481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In this study a mother's instinctive accommodations of vocal fundamental frequency (f0) of infant-directed speech to two different infants was explored. Maternal speech directed to individual 3-mo.-old fraternal twin-infants was subjected to acoustic analysis. Natural samples of infant-directed speech were recorded at home. There were differences in the rate of infants' vocal responses. The mother changed her f0 and patterns of intonation contour when she spoke to each infant. When she spoke to the infant whose vocal response was less frequent than the other infant, she used a higher mean f0 and a rising intonation contour more than when she spoke to the other infant. The result suggested that the mother's speech characteristic is not inflexible and that the mother may use a higher f0 and rising contour as a strategy to elicit an infant's less frequent vocal response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katsuko Niwano
- Graduate School of Education, Tohoku University, Aobaku, Sendai, Japan.
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Reissland N. The pitch of “real” and “rhetorical” questions directed by a father to his daughter: A longitudinal case study. Infant Behav Dev 1998. [DOI: 10.1016/s0163-6383(98)90046-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Katz GS, Cohn JF, Moore CA. A combination of vocal fo dynamic and summary features discriminates between three pragmatic categories of infant-directed speech. Child Dev 1996; 67:205-17. [PMID: 8605829 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01729.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
To assess the relative contribution of dynamic and summary features of vocal fundamental frequency (f0) to the statistical discrimination of pragmatic categories in infant-directed speech, 49 mothers were instructed to use their voice to get their 4-month-old baby's attention, show approval, and provide comfort. Vocal f0 from 621 tokens was extracted using a Computerized Speech Laboratory and custom software. Dynamic features were measured with convergent methods (visual judgment and quantitative modeling of f0 contour shape). Summary features were f0 mean, standard deviation, and duration. Dynamic and summary features both individually and in combination statistically discriminated between each of the pragmatic categories. Classification rates were 69% and 62% in initial and cross-validation DFAs, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- G S Katz
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Cooper RP, Aslin RN. Developmental differences in infant attention to the spectral properties of infant-directed speech. Child Dev 1994; 65:1663-77. [PMID: 7859548 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00841.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Across several independent studies, infants from a few days to 9 months of age have shown preferences for infant-directed (ID) over adult-directed (AD) speech. Moreover, 4-month-olds have been shown to prefer sine-wave analogs of the fundamental frequency of ID speech, suggesting that exaggerated pitch contours are prepotent stimuli for infants. The possibility of similar preferences by 1-month-olds was examined in a series of experiments, using a fixation-based preference procedure. Results from the first 2 experiments showed that 1-month-olds did not prefer the lower-frequency pitch characteristics of ID speech, even though 1-month-olds were able to discriminate low-pass filtered ID and AD speech. Since low-pass filtering may have distorted the fundamental frequency characteristics of ID speech, 1-month-olds were also tested with sine-wave analogs of the fundamental frequencies of the ID utterances. Infants in this third experiment also showed no preference for ID pitch contours. In the fourth experiment, 1-month-olds preferred a natural recording of ID speech over a version which preserved only its lower frequency prosodic features. From these results, it is argued that, although young infants are similar to older infants in their attraction to ID speech, their preferences depend on a wider range of acoustic features (e.g., spectral structure). It is suggested that exaggerated pitch contours which characterize ID speech may become salient communicative signals for infants through language-rich, interactive experiences with caretakers and increased perceptual acuity over the first months after birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- R P Cooper
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg 240461-0436
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Papoušek M. Melodies in caregivers' speech: A species-specific guidance towards language. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1994. [DOI: 10.1002/edp.2430030103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Díez-Itza E. Variaciones tonales en el habla a los niños y adquisición del lenguaje. STUDIES IN PSYCHOLOGY 1993. [DOI: 10.1080/02109395.1993.10821193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
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Karzon RG, Nicholas JG. Syllabic pitch perception in 2- to 3-month-old infants. PERCEPTION & PSYCHOPHYSICS 1989; 45:10-4. [PMID: 2913563 DOI: 10.3758/bf03208026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The pitch patterns present in speech addressed to infants may play an important role in perceptual processing by infants. In this study, the high-amplitude sucking procedure was used to assess discrimination by 2- to 3-month-old infants of rising versus falling pitch patterns in 400-msec synthetic [ra] and [la] tokens. The syllables' intonation contour was modeled on infant-directed speech, and covered a range characteristic of an adult female speaker (180-300 Hz). Group data indicated that the 2- to 3-month-old infants discriminated the pitch contour for both stimuli. Results are discussed with reference to previous studies of syllabic pitch perception.
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Clarke-Stewart K. Parents' effects on children's development: A decade of progress? JOURNAL OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 1988. [DOI: 10.1016/0193-3973(88)90004-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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Morgan JL, Meier RP, Newport EL. Structural packaging in the input to language learning: contributions of prosodic and morphological marking of phrases to the acquisition of language. Cogn Psychol 1987; 19:498-550. [PMID: 3677585 DOI: 10.1016/0010-0285(87)90017-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 171] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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Abstract
In 3 experiments, the attentional responses of 4-month-old infants to frequency-modulated (FM) sweeps corresponding to the frequency range of adult-to-infant and adult-to-adult intonation patterns were assessed. In Experiment 1, infants were observed to discriminate "exaggerated" (i.e., adult-to-infant) FM sweeps from "normal" (i.e., adult-to-adult) FM sweeps in a habituation-dishabituation paradigm but did not selectively attend to one over the other. In Experiment 2, where the same stimuli were used in a paired-comparison paradigm, again no differential attention was observed. In Experiment 3, the most exaggerated sweep was paired against a continuous, monotonic pure tone, but again no difference in salience was observed. These data suggest that the extent of modulation or intonation of an auditory stimulus per se does not constitute a salient cue for infants' attention to sound.
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