ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000121874

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1979

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

This paper reviews some of the major evidence and arguments currently available to support the view that human speech perception may require the use of specialized neural mechanisms for perceptual analysis. Experiments using synthetically produced speech signals with adults are briefly summarized and extensions of these results to infants and other organisms are reviewed with an emphasis towards detailing those aspects of speech perception that may require some need for specialized species-specific processors. Finally, some comments on the role of early experience in perceptual development are provided as an attempt to identify promising areas of new research in speech perception.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000121875

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1979

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Studies of infant speech perception have focused primarily on the ability of young infants (a) to make simple auditory discriminations, (b) to categorically discriminate speech sounds and (c) to exhibit perceptual constancy for phonetic categories. The first decade of developmental literature for stop consonants, vowels, and other speech and nonspeech contrasts is examined from these three perspectives. In addition, research into the origins (ontogenetic and phylogenetic) of these abilities is discussed, along with the studies that have probed the psychological and physiological processes that underlie the infant''s speech perception accomplishments.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000121876

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1979

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Results of recent experiments on the perception of speech-sound categories by nonhuman listeners are reviewed in light of current models of speech perception, and are compared to data obtained in similar experiments on human infants. In general, the data on nonhuman animals parallel those obtained from human infants, suggesting the possibility that certain auditory perceptual predispositions shared by mammals played a role in the selection of sounds for a speech-sound repertoire. The findings are generally relevant to the origins and evolution of speech and language, to theories of speech perception, and to the notion of innate predispositions for the perception of auditory signals that are part of an organism''s communicative repertoire.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000121877

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1979

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Results of recent experiments on the perception of speech-sound categories by nonhuman listeners are reviewed in light of current models of speech perception, and are compared to data obtained in similar experiments on human infants. In general, the data on nonhuman animals parallel those obtained from human infants, suggesting the possibility that certain auditory perceptual predispositions shared by mammals played a role in the selection of sounds for a speech-sound repertoire. The findings are generally relevant to the origins and evolution of speech and language, to theories of speech perception, and to the notion of innate predispositions for the perception of auditory signals that are part of an organism''s communicative repertoire.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000121878

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1979

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Three questions relate to how nonhuman species respond to speech and species-specific sounds: (1) Do nonhuman species perceive human speech in a human-like fashion? (2) How do nonhuman species perceive their own vocalizations? and (3) How does human perception of animal sounds differ from the animals'' perception of those sounds? Four methodologies are available for studying an animal''s perception of sounds: (1) discriminative conditioning; (2) habituation-dishabituation; (3) playbacks in captivity; and (4) playbacks in situ. Each of these techniques has a different degree of ecological validity and has different intrinsic biases toward the conclusions one might draw. Experiments using these methodologies for each of the three questions are reviewed and the methodological problems of each are discussed. A two-stage model of perceiving species-specific sounds is presented which accounts for both categorical perception of sounds and within category discrimination of sounds.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000121879

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1979

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Primate vocal repertoires may be classified along a continuum of discrete vs. graded signals, with the placement of a particular repertoire a result of the interplay between the species'' social organization and adaptive specializations of individual signals engendered by the physical environment and their use. Discussion of the different types of graded signals reveals that they may possess either transitional, ontogenetic, or internal variability. Upon examination, the speech of humans is found to contain primarily internally graded signals, and it is suggested that the major phenomena of human speech perception are related to this internally graded quality. Based on this analysis of human speech, it is proposed that other species possessing internal gradings (e.g., Japanese macaques) are also likely to demonstrate similar perceptual phenomena for their own graded vocalizations.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000121880

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1979

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) and control species (vervet, pigtailed macaque, bonnet macaque) were trained for food to respond to one class of recorded fuscata vocalizations and to not respond to a second class. A measure of neural lateralization was obtained by presenting the stimuli randomly to the right or the left ear, and comparing performance in the two ears (ear advantage method). Vocalizations were from Steven Green''s field tapes. In experiment I, the two classes were Green''s ''smooth early high coos'' (SE) and ''smooth late high coos'' (SL). Experiment II utilized the same vocalizations, but sorted into a high-pitched and a low-pitched class, i.e., orthogonally to the communication-relevant dimension. We found that (a) Japanese macaques learned the SE-SL discrimination faster than the pitch discrimination; (b) the reverse was true for the controls; (c) Japanese macaques showed a right-ear advantage (presumed left hemisphere advantage) for the SE-SL distinction, but not for the pitch discrimination, and (d) controls (with one exception) showed no ear advantage for either discrimination. These demonstrations of selective attention to communication-relevant parameters of conspecific vocalizations, and neural lateralization in the perception of these vocalizations, parallel similar findings in human speech perception.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000121881

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1979

数据来源: Karger

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000121882

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1979

数据来源: Karger

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000121883

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1979

数据来源: Karger