Cognitive Sciences, Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
Neurosciences Fondamentales, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Dev Sci. 2023 Sep;26(5):e13383. doi: 10.1111/desc.13383. Epub 2023 Mar 3.
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.
节奏感知帮助婴幼儿在言语和音乐中找到结构。然而，目前尚不清楚是否可以通过先前的跨（音乐）和内（语言）领域经验来调节由多个声学线索共同变化所表示的超音段语言节奏的范畴感知。在这里，我们测试了 6 个月大的学习德语的婴儿对词汇重音的范畴感知能力，这是一种通过音高、强度和持续时间的共同变化来表示的语言突出性。通过测量婴儿的瞳孔大小，我们发现婴儿作为一个整体未能将这些声学线索的变化感知为范畴性的。然而，在个体水平上，在家中接受音乐和语言的平均以上暴露的婴儿则成功了。我们的研究结果表明，早期接触音乐和婴儿指向的语言可以促进突出性的范畴感知。研究亮点：6 个月大的学习德语的婴儿能否对词汇重音突出性进行范畴感知，取决于他们在家中接触音乐和语言的情况。对音乐有高度接触的婴儿表现出范畴感知。对婴儿指向的语言有高度接触的婴儿表现出范畴感知。对音乐和婴儿指向的语言的高度接触的共同影响可能对范畴感知特别有益。早期接触可预测的节奏可以提高对突出性的范畴感知。
