A universal constant in temporal segmentation of human speech

Vollrath, Mark; Kazenwadel, J.; Krüger, Hans‐Peter

doi:10.1007/bf01139205

Cited by 48 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…It has been observed (Getty 1975) that it applies only for stimulus durations up to approximately 2-3 s. Thus, different temporal mechanisms are involved, if longer intervals have to be processed; this result corresponds to observations when the duration of temporal intervals have to be reproduced (see above). Experiments on the temporal structure of spontaneous speech on adults ( Vollrath et al 1992) and on children (Kowal et al 1975) also show that spoken language is embedded in temporal windows of up to 3 s duration giving speech its rhythmic structure (Martin 1972;Kien & Kemp 1994). And even cultural artefacts follow this principle of temporal segmentation allowing rhythmic control: Musical motifs have been observed to blend nicely into a temporal window of approximately 3 s, and the same is true for poetry as the duration of a spoken line in many languages corresponds to this duration.…”

Section: Review Temporal Perception E Pö Ppel 1891mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-semantically defined temporal windows for cognitive processing

Pöppel¹

2009

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

181

218

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Neuronal oscillations of different frequencies are hypothesized to be basic for temporal perception; this theoretical concept provides the frame to discuss two temporal mechanisms that are thought to be essential for cognitive processing. One such mechanism operates with periods of oscillations in the range of some tens of milliseconds, and is used for complexity reduction of temporally and spatially distributed neuronal activities. Experimental evidence comes from studies on temporal-order threshold, choice reaction time, single-cell activities, evoked responses in neuronal populations or latency distributions of oculomotor responses. The other mechanism refers to pre-semantic integration in the temporal range of approximately 2-3 s. Experimental evidence comes from studies on temporal reproduction, sensorimotor synchronization, intentional movements, speech segmentation, the shift rate of ambiguous stimuli in the visual or auditory modality or the temporal modulation of the mismatch negativity. These different observations indicate the existence of a universal process of temporal integration underlying the mental machinery. This process is believed to be basic for maintenance and change of perceptual identity. Owing to the omnipresence of this kind of temporal segmentation, it is suggested to use this process for a pragmatic definition of the states of being conscious or the 'subjective presence'.

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Section: Review Temporal Perception E Pö Ppel 1891mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-semantically defined temporal windows for cognitive processing

Pöppel¹

2009

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

181

218

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“…phonological, morphological and syntactic information) traces are still active in working memory. Prosodic phrasing seems to be adapted to these time-based working memory limits: Vollrath, Kazenwadel, and Krüger (1992) reported a median length of 2.6 s for intonation phrases in German conversations and Roll, Lindgren, Alter, and Horne (2012) showed that readers parsed utterances into 2.7 s long implicit prosodic phrases. Prosodic phrasing in turn has been observed to influence syntactic processing: embedded clauses following explicit prosodic phrase boundaries increased listeners' expectation of main clause structure (Roll, Horne, & Lindgren, 2009, 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Brain responses to syntax constrained by time-driven implicit prosodic phrases

Schremm

Horne

Roll

2015

Journal of Neurolinguistics

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a b s t r a c tPrevious research suggests that time-based working memory limits of 2e3 s constrain the integration of verbal information, and that speakers tend to parse sentences into prosodic phrases that do not extend beyond this time window. The present study used Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to investigate how time-driven implicit prosodic phrasing influences the syntactic processing of embedded clauses. Participants read Swedish sentences in which the first embedded clause had a subordinate, main or neutral clause structure cued by the position of the sentence adverb. The presentation rate was manipulated so that either one or two clauses were read within 2.7 s. When the 2.7 s time limit was reached before the onset of the embedded clause, the sentence adverb indicating subordinate clause structure elicited a posterior negativity and a late positivity. These effects were interpreted to reflect the detection of unexpected word order, followed by the revision of the anticipated main clause structure. A positive shift that correlated with individual working memory span was also seen at the clause-final word after 2.7 s, possibly indicating closure of an implicit prosodic phrase. These results suggest that prosodic phrasing was influenced by time-based working memory limits, which in turn affected syntactic analysis: readers were more likely to interpret an embedded clause as a main clause if it could be associated with the beginning of a new prosodic phrase.

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“…Indeed, that is the time we need to turn the Necker cube or see a face in Rubin's vase (Fraisse 1984;Schleidt and Kien 1997), and, in general, to take a different perceptual perspective when dealing with ambiguous stimuli. Even naturalistic stimuli, such as spoken language, consist of ''units'' in 3-s-long temporal windows (Vollrath et al 1992). When people are asked to recite poems, they speak in a rhythm of 3 s, regardless of their native language (Turner and Pöppel 1983).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sharing the moment: the duration of embraces in humans

Nagy

2011

J Ethol

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Moments of some gestures may stand out from our constantly flowing life-time as memorable experiences. We feel subjective moments as our psychological present. Few behavioral acts can express a shared subjective experience so easily observable than people's embraces after a significant life-event. Spontaneous embraces from the 2008 Summer Olympics Games were analysed, and were found to last for about 3 s, comparable to previously described perceptual and motor units in humans and also in other primate species. These 3-s segments of time are suggested to be the basic temporal building blocks of our behaviourally expressed subjective experiences.

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A universal constant in temporal segmentation of human speech

Cited by 48 publications

References 3 publications

Pre-semantically defined temporal windows for cognitive processing

Pre-semantically defined temporal windows for cognitive processing

Brain responses to syntax constrained by time-driven implicit prosodic phrases

Sharing the moment: the duration of embraces in humans

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