Ask-A-Linguist Message Details
| Subject: | Voice and sound processing in the brain |
|---|---|
| Question: |
Hello, How does the brain recognize whether a signal is a voice (and belongs to a language system) or it is a noise? From what age can a young baby gain this ability? And finally could you please introduce me some books or sources on these topics for additional information? Thanks |
| Reply: |
Rhythm and other prosodic cues seem to play a core role in speech perception. See e.g. this article, ‘Language discrimination by newborns: toward an understanding of the role of rhythm’, which deals with infant discrimination among different languages: <a href='http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9627414' target='_blank'>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9627414</a>; , and the chapters collected in this book, _Perceptual development: visual, auditory, and speech perception in infancy_: <a href='http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780863778513/' target='_blank'>http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780863778513/</a>; Both references are rather dated, but a search for current work by the authors/editors, for example on Google Scholar, may help. Madalena |
| Reply From: | Madalena Cruz-Ferreira click here to access email |
| Date: | 30-Aug-2012 |
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