scholarly journals The bouba/kiki effect is robust across cultures and writing systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 377 (1841) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Ćwiek ◽  
Susanne Fuchs ◽  
Christoph Draxler ◽  
Eva Liina Asu ◽  
Dan Dediu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Round Shape ◽  
Crossmodal Correspondence ◽  
Visual Shape ◽  
Visual Properties ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Voice Modulation

The bouba/kiki effect—the association of the nonce word bouba with a round shape and kiki with a spiky shape—is a type of correspondence between speech sounds and visual properties with potentially deep implications for the evolution of spoken language. However, there is debate over the robustness of the effect across cultures and the influence of orthography. We report an online experiment that tested the bouba/kiki effect across speakers of 25 languages representing nine language families and 10 writing systems. Overall, we found strong evidence for the effect across languages, with bouba eliciting more congruent responses than kiki . Participants who spoke languages with Roman scripts were only marginally more likely to show the effect, and analysis of the orthographic shape of the words in different scripts showed that the effect was no stronger for scripts that use rounder forms for bouba and spikier forms for kiki . These results confirm that the bouba/kiki phenomenon is rooted in crossmodal correspondence between aspects of the voice and visual shape, largely independent of orthography. They provide the strongest demonstration to date that the bouba/kiki effect is robust across cultures and writing systems. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)’.

scholarly journals Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1840) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan David Leongómez ◽  
Katarzyna Pisanski ◽  
David Reby ◽  
Disa Sauter ◽  
Nadine Lavan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Vocal Control ◽  
Species Comparisons ◽  
Physical Traits ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Voice Modulation

Research on within-individual modulation of vocal cues is surprisingly scarce outside of human speech. Yet, voice modulation serves diverse functions in human and nonhuman nonverbal communication, from dynamically signalling motivation and emotion, to exaggerating physical traits such as body size and masculinity, to enabling song and musicality. The diversity of anatomical, neural, cognitive and behavioural adaptations necessary for the production and perception of voice modulation make it a critical target for research on the origins and functions of acoustic communication. This diversity also implicates voice modulation in numerous disciplines and technological applications. In this two-part theme issue comprising 21 articles from leading and emerging international researchers, we highlight the multidisciplinary nature of the voice sciences. Every article addresses at least two, if not several, critical topics: (i) development and mechanisms driving vocal control and modulation; (ii) cultural and other environmental factors affecting voice modulation; (iii) evolutionary origins and adaptive functions of vocal control including cross-species comparisons; (iv) social functions and real-world consequences of voice modulation; and (v) state-of-the-art in multidisciplinary methodologies and technologies in voice modulation research. With this collection of works, we aim to facilitate cross-talk across disciplines to further stimulate the burgeoning field of voice modulation. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part I)’.

scholarly journals Vocal size exaggeration may have contributed to the origins of vocalic complexity

2021 ◽  
Vol 377 (1841) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Pisanski ◽  
Andrey Anikin ◽  
David Reby
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Similar Extent ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Articulatory Movements ◽  
Animal Vocalizations ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
Voice Modulation

Vocal tract elongation, which uniformly lowers vocal tract resonances (formant frequencies) in animal vocalizations, has evolved independently in several vertebrate groups as a means for vocalizers to exaggerate their apparent body size. Here, we propose that smaller speech-like articulatory movements that alter only individual formants can serve a similar yet less energetically costly size-exaggerating function. To test this, we examine whether uneven formant spacing alters the perceived body size of vocalizers in synthesized human vowels and animal calls. Among six synthetic vowel patterns, those characterized by the lowest first and second formant (the vowel /u/ as in ‘boot’) are consistently perceived as produced by the largest vocalizer. Crucially, lowering only one or two formants in animal-like calls also conveys the impression of a larger body size, and lowering the second and third formants simultaneously exaggerates perceived size to a similar extent as rescaling all formants. As the articulatory movements required for individual formant shifts are minor compared to full vocal tract extension, they represent a rapid and energetically efficient mechanism for acoustic size exaggeration. We suggest that, by favouring the evolution of uneven formant patterns in vocal communication, this deceptive strategy may have contributed to the origins of the phonemic diversification required for articulated speech. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)’.

scholarly journals Across demographics and recent history, most parents sing to their infants and toddlers daily

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1840) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ran Yan ◽  
Ghazal Jessani ◽  
Elizabeth S. Spelke ◽  
Peter de Villiers ◽  
Jill de Villiers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Technological Environment ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
The Past ◽  
Recorded Music ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Voice Modulation

Music is universally prevalent in human society and is a salient component of the lives of young families. Here, we studied the frequency of singing and playing recorded music in the home using surveys of parents with infants ( N = 945). We found that most parents sing to their infant on a daily basis and the frequency of infant-directed singing is unrelated to parents’ income or ethnicity. Two reliable individual differences emerged, however: (i) fathers sing less than mothers and (ii) as infants grow older, parents sing less. Moreover, the latter effect of child age was specific to singing and was not reflected in reports of the frequency of playing recorded music. Last, we meta-analysed reports of the frequency of infant-directed singing and found little change in its frequency over the past 30 years, despite substantial changes in the technological environment in the home. These findings, consistent with theories of the psychological functions of music, in general, and infant-directed singing, in particular, demonstrate the everyday nature of music in infancy. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part I)’.

scholarly journals Even violins can cry: specifically vocal emotional behaviours also drive the perception of emotions in non-vocal music

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1840) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Bedoya ◽  
P. Arias ◽  
L. Rachman ◽  
M. Liuni ◽  
C. Canonne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Vocal Music ◽  
Singing Voice ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
Musical Background ◽  
Vocal Tremor ◽  
Voice Modulation

A wealth of theoretical and empirical arguments have suggested that music triggers emotional responses by resembling the inflections of expressive vocalizations, but have done so using low-level acoustic parameters (pitch, loudness, speed) that, in fact, may not be processed by the listener in reference to human voice. Here, we take the opportunity of the recent availability of computational models that allow the simulation of three specifically vocal emotional behaviours: smiling, vocal tremor and vocal roughness. When applied to musical material, we find that these three acoustic manipulations trigger emotional perceptions that are remarkably similar to those observed on speech and scream sounds, and identical across musician and non-musician listeners. Strikingly, this not only applied to singing voice with and without musical background, but also to purely instrumental material. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part I)’.

scholarly journals A dual larynx motor networks hypothesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1840) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Belyk ◽  
Nicole Eichert ◽  
Carolyn McGettigan
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Dual Representation ◽  
Human Phenotype ◽  
Laryngeal Muscles ◽  
Motor Network ◽  
Voice Modulation

Humans are vocal modulators par excellence. This ability is supported in part by the dual representation of the laryngeal muscles in the motor cortex. Movement, however, is not the product of motor cortex alone but of a broader motor network. This network consists of brain regions that contain somatotopic maps that parallel the organization in motor cortex. We therefore present a novel hypothesis that the dual laryngeal representation is repeated throughout the broader motor network. In support of the hypothesis, we review existing literature that demonstrates the existence of network-wide somatotopy and present initial evidence for the hypothesis' plausibility. Understanding how this uniquely human phenotype in motor cortex interacts with broader brain networks is an important step toward understanding how humans evolved the ability to speak. We further suggest that this system may provide a means to study how individual components of the nervous system evolved within the context of neuronal networks. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part I)’.

scholarly journals The neural control of volitional vocal production—from speech to identity, from social meaning to song

2021 ◽  
Vol 377 (1841) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie K. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Neural Control ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Flexible System ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
Social Traits ◽  
Neural Underpinnings ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Voice Modulation

The networks of cortical and subcortical fields that contribute to speech production have benefitted from many years of detailed study, and have been used as a framework for human volitional vocal production more generally. In this article, I will argue that we need to consider speech production as an expression of the human voice in a more general sense. I will also argue that the neural control of the voice can and should be considered to be a flexible system, into which more right hemispheric networks are differentially recruited, based on the factors that are modulating vocal production. I will explore how this flexible network is recruited to express aspects of non-verbal information in the voice, such as identity and social traits. Finally, I will argue that we need to widen out the kinds of vocal behaviours that we explore, if we want to understand the neural underpinnings of the true range of sound-making capabilities of the human voice. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)’.

scholarly journals Perception of group membership from spontaneous and volitional laughter

2021 ◽  
Vol 377 (1841) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roza G. Kamiloğlu ◽  
Akihiro Tanaka ◽  
Sophie K. Scott ◽  
Disa A. Sauter
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Group Identity ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Bayesian Analyses ◽  
Two Cultures ◽  
Social Signal ◽  
The Two Cultures ◽  
Voice Modulation ◽  
Production Mechanisms

Laughter is a ubiquitous social signal. Recent work has highlighted distinctions between spontaneous and volitional laughter, which differ in terms of both production mechanisms and perceptual features. Here, we test listeners' ability to infer group identity from volitional and spontaneous laughter, as well as the perceived positivity of these laughs across cultures. Dutch ( n = 273) and Japanese ( n = 131) participants listened to decontextualized laughter clips and judged (i) whether the laughing person was from their cultural in-group or an out-group; and (ii) whether they thought the laughter was produced spontaneously or volitionally. They also rated the positivity of each laughter clip. Using frequentist and Bayesian analyses, we show that listeners were able to infer group membership from both spontaneous and volitional laughter, and that performance was equivalent for both types of laughter. Spontaneous laughter was rated as more positive than volitional laughter across the two cultures, and in-group laughs were perceived as more positive than out-group laughs by Dutch but not Japanese listeners. Our results demonstrate that both spontaneous and volitional laughter can be used by listeners to infer laughers’ cultural group identity. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)’.

scholarly journals Musicality in human vocal communication: an evolutionary perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 377 (1841) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan David Leongómez ◽  
Jan Havlíček ◽  
S. Craig Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Social Bonds ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Voice Modulation

Studies show that specific vocal modulations, akin to those of infant-directed speech (IDS) and perhaps music, play a role in communicating intentions and mental states during human social interaction. Based on this, we propose a model for the evolution of musicality—the capacity to process musical information—in relation to human vocal communication. We suggest that a complex social environment, with strong social bonds, promoted the appearance of musicality-related abilities. These social bonds were not limited to those between offspring and mothers or other carers, although these may have been especially influential in view of altriciality of human infants. The model can be further tested in other species by comparing levels of sociality and complexity of vocal communication. By integrating several theories, our model presents a radically different view of musicality, not limited to specifically musical scenarios, but one in which this capacity originally evolved to aid parent–infant communication and bonding, and even today plays a role not only in music but also in IDS, as well as in some adult-directed speech contexts. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)’.

“Yf ye wyll bergayne wullen cloth or othir marchandise...”

2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Becker
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Relevant Feature ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
Early Modern Times ◽  
Main Components ◽  
High Degree

This paper is based on a corpus of textbook dialogues which were used to teach the basics of English and French in early modern times. I aim to show the relevance of this genre for historical pragmatics. For this purpose, I refer to extra-linguistic aspects such as function, content and target group of these written dialogues which claim to represent spoken language, and I explain why these aspects are likely to indicate a high degree of pragmatic authenticity. My paper also aims to analyse the verbal interaction represented in the model dialogues. I will focus on sales talk, a discourse type which is a typical element of the phrasebooks and a relevant feature of communication at a time when commercial activities had an increasing social impact. The analysis of the main components reveals that the dialogues are highly standardised but not totally fixed; they offer their users a (restricted) inventory of linguistic devices to negotiate successfully. However, a discourse analytical approach is not sufficient to explain the interaction between buyer and seller. I therefore propose that the pragmatic concept of “face work” is the determining force in the process of bargaining. Furthermore, the analysis of the textbook dialogues illustrates the value of combining very different approaches and levels of analysis.

Core syllables vs. moraic writing

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-51
Author(s):  
Eugene Buckley
Keyword(s):  
Spoken Language ◽  
Writing System ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Syllable Weight

Abstract It is generally accepted that the units of writing systems represent categories found in spoken language; in phonographic writing, these categories traditionally include the syllable and segment, which correspond to syllabic and alphabetic systems. But it has been claimed that some or most “syllabaries” are actually based on moras, well known from phonological theory as units of syllable weight. I argue that apparent moraic systems are in fact built on signs that stand for core CV syllables, and consequently that moras do not appear to play a central role in any writing system.

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