Phrasing in prelinguistic vocalizations

Abstract

Phrasing is a universal characteristic of human communication, and the present investigation explored its developmental roots in nonvegetative, prelinguistic vocalizations. Adult judges identified a hierarchical arrangement of syllables embedded within utterances and utterances embedded within prelinguistic phrases in the vocalizations of infants. Prelinguistic phrases were characterized by systematic lengthening of phrase final syllables, temporal patterning, and stable durations across development that were similar to those of some cross-culturally optimal rhythmic units from other domains. Analyses of vocalizations of infants with Down syndrome indicated similar internal structure of prelinguistic phrases to those of typically developing infants, but with longer durations. These findings suggest that relative durational characteristics of prelinguistic phrasing are stable features of early vocal behavior, although the absolute durational characteristics of prelinguistic phrases can be impacted by a complex and severe disorder such as Down syndrome.

Beyond ba-ba and gu-gu: Challenges and strategies in coding infant vocalizations

“…Thus, when the Lynch et al (1995) and Nathani (1998) data were compared by the present authors, it became apparent that some utterances from the Nathani study had been classified as "phrases" (a level of rhythmic organization just higher than utterances) in the Lynch (1995) study, even though Nathani intended to apply the Lynch criteria as described in the published research. These measurement differences highlight the difficulties encountered when transporting definitions across laboratories, based merely on written descriptions of coding criteria.…”

“…The problem of coding has recently become even more daunting since infant vocalizations have been shown to be structured in rhythmic hierarchies rather than in mere linear strings for infants developing normally and for infants with disordered development (Lynch, Oller, Steffens, & Buder, 1995;Nathani, 1998). ment and later speech and language, partly circumvented these issues by focusing only on the well-formed or "canonical" syllables in infancy.…”

The Artification Hypothesis and Its Relevance to Cognitive Science, Evolutionary Aesthetics, and Neuroaesthetics

“…As evident from this example, the utterances are simplified, rhythmic, and highly repetitive. Transcripts such as these reveal poetic features: talk to babies is composed of phrases, each (whether having two or nine syllables) about three and a half to five seconds in length-the temporal length of a poetic line, a musical phrase, and a phrase of speech in adults (Lynch et al 1995;Turner 1985)-and these phrase segments are combined with others in "stanzas" that comprise a theme with variations. Subtler poetic features of language such as metrics, phonetics, and foregrounding are discernible with further close analysis (Miall and Dissanayake 2002).…”

Vocalization Rate and Consonant Production in Toddlers at High and Low Risk for Autism

“…All toddler vocalizations in the 30-min samples were divided into breath groups (Lynch, Oller, Steffens, & Buder, 1995;Oller & Lynch, 1992) and coded as speechlike, nonspeechlike, or obscured. Obscured vocalizations could not be clearly heard because of interfering toy noise or adult speech, and were subsequently excluded from analysis.…”