SISSA - International School for Advanced Studies, via Bonomea 265, 34136, Trieste, Italy.
SISSA - International School for Advanced Studies, via Bonomea 265, 34136, Trieste, Italy.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2017 Oct;81(Pt B):158-166. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.012. Epub 2016 Dec 16.
Spoken language is governed by rhythm. Linguistic rhythm is hierarchical and the rhythmic hierarchy partially mimics the prosodic as well as the morpho-syntactic hierarchy of spoken language. It can thus provide learners with cues about the structure of the language they are acquiring. We identify three universal levels of linguistic rhythm - the segmental level, the level of the metrical feet and the phonological phrase level - and discuss why primary lexical stress is not rhythmic. We survey experimental evidence on rhythm perception in young infants and native speakers of various languages to determine the properties of linguistic rhythm that are present at birth, those that mature during the first year of life and those that are shaped by the linguistic environment of language learners. We conclude with a discussion of the major gaps in current knowledge on linguistic rhythm and highlight areas of interest for future research that are most likely to yield significant insights into the nature, the perception, and the usefulness of linguistic rhythm.
口语受节奏的支配。语言节奏是分层的，其节奏层次部分模仿了韵律和口语的形态句法层次。因此，它可以为学习者提供关于他们正在学习的语言结构的线索。我们确定了语言节奏的三个普遍层次——音节层次、韵律脚层次和音系短语层次——并讨论了为什么主要的词汇重音不是节奏性的。我们调查了关于幼儿和各种语言母语者的节奏感知的实验证据，以确定在出生时存在的语言节奏的属性、在生命的第一年成熟的属性以及受语言学习者语言环境塑造的属性。最后，我们讨论了当前关于语言节奏的主要知识空白，并强调了未来研究中最有可能对语言节奏的本质、感知和有用性产生重大见解的感兴趣领域。
