The Melody of Speech

What the Melodic Perception of Speech Reveals about Language Performance and Musical Abilities

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5901439
AutoresMarkus Christiner (0000-0003-3875-7191, University of Graz, autor de correspondencia), Christine Gro (0000-0002-0506-7963, Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music), Annemarie Seither-Preisler, Annemarie Seither‐preisler (0000-0003-3084-1911, University of Graz), Peter Schneider (0000-0002-1920-0438, Heidelberg University)
Año2021
Volumen6
Número3
Páginas132
Fecha de publicación2021-08-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLanguages (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2226-471X • E-ISSN: 2226-471X
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/languages6030132
OpenAlexW3190512009
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas70

Research has shown that melody not only plays a crucial role in music but also in language acquisition processes. Evidence has been provided that melody helps in retrieving, remembering, and memorizing new language material, while relatively little is known about whether individuals who perceive speech as more melodic than others also benefit in the acquisition of oral languages. In this investigation, we wanted to show which impact the subjective melodic perception of speech has on the pronunciation of unfamiliar foreign languages. We tested 86 participants for how melodic they perceived five unfamiliar languages, for their ability to repeat and pronounce the respective five languages, for their musical abilities, and for their short-term memory (STM). The results revealed that 59 percent of the variance in the language pronunciation tasks could be explained by five predictors: the number of foreign languages spoken, short-term memory capacity, tonal aptitude, melodic singing ability, and how melodic the languages appeared to the participants. Group comparisons showed that individuals who perceived languages as more melodic performed significantly better in all language tasks than those who did not. However, even though we expected musical measures to be related to the melodic perception of foreign languages, we could only detect some correlations to rhythmical and tonal musical aptitude. Overall, the findings of this investigation add a new dimension to language research, which shows that individuals who perceive natural languages to be more melodic than others also retrieve and pronounce utterances more accurately

Cognitive psychology · First language · Foreign language · Linguistics · Melody · Memorization · Musical · Perception · Pronunciation · Singing · Diverse Music Education Insights · Neuroscience and Music Perception · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Psychology