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Piot L, Nazzi T, Boll-Avetisyan N. Infants' sensitivity to phonotactic regularities related to perceptually low-salient fricatives: a cross-linguistic study. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1367240. [PMID: 38533216 PMCID: PMC10964922 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1367240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Infants' sensitivity to language-specific phonotactic regularities emerges between 6- and 9- months of age, and this sensitivity has been shown to impact other early processes such as wordform segmentation and word learning. However, the acquisition of phonotactic regularities involving perceptually low-salient phonemes (i.e., phoneme contrasts that are hard to discriminate at an early age), has rarely been studied and prior results show mixed findings. Here, we aimed to further assess infants' acquisition of such regularities, by focusing on the low-salient contrast of /s/- and /ʃ/-initial consonant clusters. Methods Using the headturn preference procedure, we assessed whether French- and German-learning 9-month-old infants are sensitive to language-specific regularities varying in frequency within and between the two languages (i.e., /st/ and /sp/ frequent in French, but infrequent in German, /ʃt/ and /ʃp/ frequent in German, but infrequent in French). Results French-learning infants preferred the frequent over the infrequent phonotactic regularities, but the results for the German-learning infants were less clear. Discussion These results suggest crosslinguistic acquisition patterns, although an exploratory direct comparison of the French- and German-learning groups was inconclusive, possibly linked to low statistical power to detect such differences. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that infants' early phonotactic sensitivities extend to regularities involving perceptually low-salient phoneme contrasts at 9 months, and highlight the importance of conducting cross-linguistic research on such language-specific processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Piot
- Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, CNRS & Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Thierry Nazzi
- Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, CNRS & Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
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Vanoncini M, Hoehl S, Elsner B, Wallot S, Boll-Avetisyan N, Kayhan E. Mother-infant social gaze dynamics relate to infant brain activity and word segmentation. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 65:101331. [PMID: 38113766 PMCID: PMC10770595 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The 'social brain', consisting of areas sensitive to social information, supposedly gates the mechanisms involved in human language learning. Early preverbal interactions are guided by ostensive signals, such as gaze patterns, which are coordinated across body, brain, and environment. However, little is known about how the infant brain processes social gaze in naturalistic interactions and how this relates to infant language development. During free-play of 9-month-olds with their mothers, we recorded hemodynamic cortical activity of ´social brain` areas (prefrontal cortex, temporo-parietal junctions) via fNIRS, and micro-coded mother's and infant's social gaze. Infants' speech processing was assessed with a word segmentation task. Using joint recurrence quantification analysis, we examined the connection between infants' ´social brain` activity and the temporal dynamics of social gaze at intrapersonal (i.e., infant's coordination, maternal coordination) and interpersonal (i.e., dyadic coupling) levels. Regression modeling revealed that intrapersonal dynamics in maternal social gaze (but not infant's coordination or dyadic coupling) coordinated significantly with infant's cortical activity. Moreover, recurrence quantification analysis revealed that intrapersonal maternal social gaze dynamics (in terms of entropy) were the best predictor of infants' word segmentation. The findings support the importance of social interaction in language development, particularly highlighting maternal social gaze dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Vanoncini
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany; Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany; Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria; Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Stefanie Hoehl
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Birgit Elsner
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany; Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Sebastian Wallot
- Institute for Sustainability Education and Psychology (ISEP), Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
- Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany; Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Ezgi Kayhan
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany; Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Langus A, Boll-Avetisyan N, van Ommen S, Nazzi T. Music and language in the crib: Early cross-domain effects of experience on categorical perception of prominence in spoken language. Dev Sci 2023; 26:e13383. [PMID: 36869433 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
Rhythm perception helps young infants find structure in both speech and music. However, it remains unknown whether categorical perception of suprasegmental linguistic rhythm signaled by a co-variation of multiple acoustic cues can be modulated by prior between- (music) and within-domain (language) experience. Here we tested 6-month-old German-learning infants' ability to have a categorical perception of lexical stress, a linguistic prominence signaled through the co-variation of pitch, intensity, and duration. By measuring infants' pupil size, we find that infants as a group fail to perceive co-variation of these acoustic cues as categorical. However, at an individual level, infants with above-average exposure to music and language at home succeeded. Our results suggest that early exposure to music and infant-directed language can boost the categorical perception of prominence. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: 6-month-old German-learning infants' ability to perceive lexical stress prominence categorically depends on exposure to music and language at home. Infants with high exposure to music show categorical perception. Infants with high exposure to infant-directed language show categorical perception. Co-influence of high exposure to music and infant-directed language may be especially beneficial for categorical perception. Early exposure to predictable rhythms boosts categorical perception of prominence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Langus
- Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | | | | | - Thierry Nazzi
- Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, CNRS - Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
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Omane PO, Benders T, Duah RA, Boll-Avetisyan N. Diversifying language acquisition research can be (partly) achieved in urban societies and with simplified methodologies: Insights from multilingual Ghana. J Child Lang 2023; 50:1-5. [PMID: 36919648 DOI: 10.1017/s0305000923000090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
There is a large consensus (e.g., Cristia, Foushee, Aravena-Bravo, Cychosz, Scaff & Casillas, 2022; Kidd & Garcia, 2022) that diversification in language acquisition research is needed. Cristia et al. (2022) convincingly argue for studying language acquisition in rural populations and recommend combining observational and experimental approaches in doing so. In this commentary, we identify that diversification efforts must also include children growing up in non-western urban societies and that combining experiments with more easy-to-obtain data on language exposure can be a solid method to start with.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Okyere Omane
- Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science Unit, University of Potsdam, Germany
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney-Australia
- International Doctorate for Experimental Approaches to Language and Brain (IDEALAB), Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany; University of Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Titia Benders
- Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Vanoncini M, Boll-Avetisyan N, Elsner B, Hoehl S, Kayhan E. The role of mother-infant emotional synchrony in speech processing in 9-month-old infants. Infant Behav Dev 2022; 69:101772. [PMID: 36137465 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2022.101772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Rhythmicity characterizes both interpersonal synchrony and spoken language. Emotions and language are forms of interpersonal communication, which interact with each other throughout development. We investigated whether and how emotional synchrony between mothers and their 9-month-old infants relates to infants' word segmentation as an early marker of language development. Twenty-six 9-month-old infants and their German-speaking mothers took part in the study. To measure emotional synchrony, we coded positive, neutral and negative emotional expressions of the mothers and their infants during a free play session. We then calculated the degree to which the mothers' and their infants' matching emotional expressions followed a predictable pattern. To measure word segmentation, we familiarized infants with auditory text passages and tested how long they looked at the screen while listening to familiar versus novel words. We found that higher levels of predictability (i.e. low entropy) during mother-infant interaction is associated with infants' word segmentation performance. These findings suggest that individual differences in word segmentation relate to the complexity and predictability of emotional expressions during mother-infant interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Vanoncini
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Potsdam, Germany; Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Germany; Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria.
| | | | - Birgit Elsner
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Stefanie Hoehl
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Ezgi Kayhan
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Potsdam, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. Leipzig, Germany
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Höhle B, Fritzsche T, Boll-Avetisyan N, Hullebus M, Gafos A. Respect the surroundings: Effects of phonetic context variability on infants' learning of minimal pairs. JASA Express Lett 2021; 1:024401. [PMID: 36154034 DOI: 10.1121/10.0003574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Fourteen-month-olds' ability to distinguish a just learned word, /buːk/, from its minimally different word, /duːk/, was assessed under two pre-exposure conditions: one where /b, d/-initial forms occurred in a varying vowel context and another where the vowel was fixed but the final consonant varied. Infants in the experiments benefited from the variable vowel but not from the variable final consonant context, suggesting that vowel variability but not all kinds of variability are beneficial. These results are discussed in the context of time-honored observations on the vowel-dependent nature of place of articulation cues for consonants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Höhle
- University of Potsdam, Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany , , , ,
| | - Tom Fritzsche
- University of Potsdam, Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany , , , ,
| | - Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
- University of Potsdam, Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany , , , ,
| | - Marc Hullebus
- University of Potsdam, Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany , , , ,
| | - Adamantios Gafos
- University of Potsdam, Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany , , , ,
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Boll-Avetisyan N, Bhatara A, Höhle B. Processing of Rhythm in Speech and Music in Adult Dyslexia. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10050261. [PMID: 32365799 PMCID: PMC7287596 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10050261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Revised: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have suggested that musical rhythm perception ability can affect the phonological system. The most prevalent causal account for developmental dyslexia is the phonological deficit hypothesis. As rhythm is a subpart of phonology, we hypothesized that reading deficits in dyslexia are associated with rhythm processing in speech and in music. In a rhythmic grouping task, adults with diagnosed dyslexia and age-matched controls listened to speech streams with syllables alternating in intensity, duration, or neither, and indicated whether they perceived a strong-weak or weak-strong rhythm pattern. Additionally, their reading and musical rhythm abilities were measured. Results showed that adults with dyslexia had lower musical rhythm abilities than adults without dyslexia. Moreover, lower musical rhythm ability was associated with lower reading ability in dyslexia. However, speech grouping by adults with dyslexia was not impaired when musical rhythm perception ability was controlled: like adults without dyslexia, they showed consistent preferences. However, rhythmic grouping was predicted by musical rhythm perception ability, irrespective of dyslexia. The results suggest associations among musical rhythm perception ability, speech rhythm perception, and reading ability. This highlights the importance of considering individual variability to better understand dyslexia and raises the possibility that musical rhythm perception ability is a key to phonological and reading acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Boll-Avetisyan
- SFB1287, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-331-977-2374
| | - Anjali Bhatara
- CNRS, (Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, UMR 8002), Université de Paris, 45 rue des Saints-Pères, 75270 Paris, France;
| | - Barbara Höhle
- SFB1287, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany;
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Abboub N, Boll-Avetisyan N, Bhatara A, Höhle B, Nazzi T. An Exploration of Rhythmic Grouping of Speech Sequences by French- and German-Learning Infants. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:292. [PMID: 27378887 PMCID: PMC4906042 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/31/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nawal Abboub
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris DescartesParis, France; Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Paris, France
| | | | - Anjali Bhatara
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris DescartesParis, France; Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Paris, France
| | - Barbara Höhle
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Universität Potsdam Potsdam, Germany
| | - Thierry Nazzi
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris DescartesParis, France; Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Paris, France
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Bhatara A, Boll-Avetisyan N, Agus T, Höhle B, Nazzi T. Language Experience Affects Grouping of Musical Instrument Sounds. Cogn Sci 2015; 40:1816-1830. [PMID: 26480958 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2013] [Revised: 06/01/2015] [Accepted: 06/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Language experience clearly affects the perception of speech, but little is known about whether these differences in perception extend to non-speech sounds. In this study, we investigated rhythmic perception of non-linguistic sounds in speakers of French and German using a grouping task, in which complexity (variability in sounds, presence of pauses) was manipulated. In this task, participants grouped sequences of auditory chimeras formed from musical instruments. These chimeras mimic the complexity of speech without being speech. We found that, while showing the same overall grouping preferences, the German speakers showed stronger biases than the French speakers in grouping complex sequences. Sound variability reduced all participants' biases, resulting in the French group showing no grouping preference for the most variable sequences, though this reduction was attenuated by musical experience. In sum, this study demonstrates that linguistic experience, musical experience, and complexity affect rhythmic grouping of non-linguistic sounds and suggests that experience with acoustic cues in a meaningful context (language or music) is necessary for developing a robust grouping preference that survives acoustic variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anjali Bhatara
- CNRS (Psychology of Perception Laboratory, UMR 8242). .,Paris Descartes University, Sorbonne Paris Cité.
| | | | - Trevor Agus
- CNRS (Psychology of Perception Laboratory, UMR 8242).,Paris Descartes University, Sorbonne Paris Cité.,Sonic Arts Research Centre, School of Creative Arts, Queen's University Belfast
| | - Barbara Höhle
- Faculty of Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam
| | - Thierry Nazzi
- CNRS (Psychology of Perception Laboratory, UMR 8242).,Paris Descartes University, Sorbonne Paris Cité
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Abstract
Perceptual attunement to one's native language results in language-specific processing of speech sounds. This includes stress cues, instantiated by differences in intensity, pitch, and duration. The present study investigates the effects of linguistic experience on the perception of these cues by studying the Iambic-Trochaic Law (ITL), which states that listeners group sounds trochaically (strong-weak) if the sounds vary in loudness or pitch and iambically (weak-strong) if they vary in duration. Participants were native listeners either of French or German; this comparison was chosen because French adults have been shown to be less sensitive than speakers of German and other languages to word-level stress, which is communicated by variation in cues such as intensity, fundamental frequency (F0), or duration. In experiment 1, participants listened to sequences of co-articulated syllables varying in either intensity or duration. The German participants were more consistent in their grouping than the French for both cues. Experiment 2 was identical to experiment 1 except that intensity variation was replaced by pitch variation. German participants again showed more consistency for both cues, and French participants showed especially inconsistent grouping for the pitch-varied sequences. These experiments show that the perception of linguistic rhythm is strongly influenced by linguistic experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anjali Bhatara
- CNRS (Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Unité Mixte de Recherche 8158), 45 rue des Saints-Pères, 75006 Paris, France
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