Language and Speech Rhythmic Abilities Correlate with L2 Prosody Imitation Abilities in Typologically Different Languages

International audienceWhile many studies have demonstrated the relationship between musical rhythm and speech prosody, this has been rarely addressed in the context of second language (L2) acquisition. Here, we investigated whether musical rhythmic skills and the production of L2 speech prosody are predictive of one another. We tested both musical and linguistic rhythmic competences of 23 native French speakers of L2 English. Participants completed perception and production music and language tests. In the prosody production test, sentences containing trisyllabic words with either a prominence on the first or on the second syllable were heard and had to be reproduced. Participants were less accurate in reproducing penultimate accent placement. Moreover, the accuracy in reproducing phonologically disfavored stress patterns was best predicted by rhythm production abilities. Our results show, for the first time, that better reproduction of musical rhythmic sequences is predictive of a more successful realization of unfamiliar L2 prosody, specifically in terms of stress-accent placement

The effect of musical rhythm on spoken language

La musique et la parole reposent sur une organisation temporelle. En effet, l’anticipation, l’organisation et le groupement temporel y sont nécessaires. Il serait donc possible que des processus domaine-généraux sous-tendent ces deux processus temporels soient mis en jeu.Pour tester cette hypothèse, trois expériences utilisant des mesures comportementales et électrophysiologiques (EEG) ont été menées afin de déterminer si la perception et la production de la parole peuvent bénéficier d’un amorçage rythmique (i.e. la présentation au préalable d’un rythme musical qui peut renseigner sur les structures temporelles de la parole). En utilisant ces mesures, nous avons montré que le traitement phonologique de pseudo-mots parlés est renforcé lorsque la parole est conforme aux prédictions temporelles des auditeurs (Cason & Schön, 2012). Le traitement phonologique des phrases peut également être amélioré et cet effet d’amorçage augmenté grâce à un entrainement avec les rythmes musicaux (Cason, Astésano & Schön, soumis). Dans une troisième étude, nous avons montré que l’amorçage rythmique peut augmenter la production phonologique chez les enfants sourds (Cason, Hidalgo & Schön, soumis).Ces trois études montrent que la régularité du rythme musical (plus important que dans la parole) semblerait permettre, de manière générale, la formation de prédictions temporelles précises et une trace mnésique également améliorer la production de la parole chez les enfants souffrants de troubles auditif.Music and speech are both reliant on how events occur in time. Both require anticipation about when and what events will occur as well as a temporal and hierarchical organisation of salient and less salient events. These may rely on common, domain-general processes.With this in mind, three experiments using behavioural and electrophysiological (EEG) measures were conducted which aimed to investigate whether speech perception and production can benefit from rhythmic priming (inducing temporal expectations through music, and which can inform a listener about temporal structures in speech). We have found that phonological processing of spoken pseudowords is enhanced when speech conforms to listener expectations, as measured by behavioural (reaction time) and EEG data (Cason & Schön, 2012). Phonological processing of sentences can also be enhanced via rhythmic priming (behavioural measures) and this priming effect is augmented through training with the musical rhythms (Cason, Astésano & Schön, submitted).Overall, it seems that the regularity of musical rhythm (over speech rhythm) allows a listener to form precise temporal expectations and a metrical memory trace which can impact on phonological processing of words and sentences, and that rhythmic priming can also enhance articulation performance in hearing-impaired children, perhaps via an enhanced phonological perception

Language and Speech Rhythmic Abilities Correlate with L2 Prosody Imitation Abilities in Typologically Different Languages

International audienceWhile many studies have demonstrated the relationship between musical rhythm and speech prosody, this has been rarely addressed in the context of second language (L2) acquisition. Here, we investigated whether musical rhythmic skills and the production of L2 speech prosody are predictive of one another. We tested both musical and linguistic rhythmic competences of 23 native French speakers of L2 English. Participants completed perception and production music and language tests. In the prosody production test, sentences containing trisyllabic words with either a prominence on the first or on the second syllable were heard and had to be reproduced. Participants were less accurate in reproducing penultimate accent placement. Moreover, the accuracy in reproducing phonologically disfavored stress patterns was best predicted by rhythm production abilities. Our results show, for the first time, that better reproduction of musical rhythmic sequences is predictive of a more successful realization of unfamiliar L2 prosody, specifically in terms of stress-accent placement

Language and Speech Rhythmic Abilities Correlate with L2 Prosody Imitation Abilities in Typologically Different Languages

International audienceWhile many studies have demonstrated the relationship between musical rhythm and speech prosody, this has been rarely addressed in the context of second language (L2) acquisition. Here, we investigated whether musical rhythmic skills and the production of L2 speech prosody are predictive of one another. We tested both musical and linguistic rhythmic competences of 23 native French speakers of L2 English. Participants completed perception and production music and language tests. In the prosody production test, sentences containing trisyllabic words with either a prominence on the first or on the second syllable were heard and had to be reproduced. Participants were less accurate in reproducing penultimate accent placement. Moreover, the accuracy in reproducing phonologically disfavored stress patterns was best predicted by rhythm production abilities. Our results show, for the first time, that better reproduction of musical rhythmic sequences is predictive of a more successful realization of unfamiliar L2 prosody, specifically in terms of stress-accent placement

Rhythmic Abilities Correlate with L2 Prosody Imitation Abilities in Typologically Different Languages

International audienceWhile many studies have demonstrated the relationship between musical rhythm and speech prosody, this has been rarely addressed in the context of second language (L2) acquisition. Here, we investigated whether musical rhythmic skills and the production of L2 speech prosody are predictive of one another. We tested both musical and linguistic rhythmic competences of 23 native French speakers of L2 English. Participants completed perception and production music and language tests. In the prosody production test, sentences containing trisyllabic words with either a prominence on the first or on the second syllable were heard and had to be reproduced. Participants were less accurate in reproducing penultimate accent placement. Moreover, the accuracy in reproducing phonologically disfavored stress patterns was best predicted by rhythm production abilities. Our results show, for the first time, that better reproduction of musical rhythmic sequences is predictive of a more successful realization of unfamiliar L2 prosody, specifically in terms of stress-accent placement

When synesthesia and savant abilities are mistaken for hallucinations and delusions: contribution of a cognitive approach for their differential diagnosis

International audienceObjective: Schizophrenia is characterized by hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech and behavior, and other symptoms that cause social or occupational dysfunction. However, some of these symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, can be indicative of other phenomena such as synesthesia and savant abilities. The aim of this paper is to highlight how neurological and psychiatric conditions can be confused and how formal neuropsychological evaluations can be necessary to distinguish them.Method: We report the case of a young woman, VA, who perceived sounds as colors and claimed to have elaborated complex astrophysical reasoning, despite having experienced difficulties at school, especially in mathematics. VA also had difficulties to orient herself, to develop social relationships, and often became confused by daily life situations. These elements were considered as symptoms of schizophrenia.Results: Evaluations revealed that VA exhibited savant abilities in astrophysics and colored-hearing synesthesia. We also found evidence of higher-than-average cognitive functioning.Conclusions: In complex cases, neuropsychological and formal evaluations are necessary to establish a differential diagnosis. Moreover, the case highlights the link between synesthesia and savant abilities

Bridging music and speech rhythm: Rhythmic priming and audio-motor training affect speech perception

International audienceFollowing findings that musical rhythmic priming enhances subsequent speech perception, we investigated whether rhythmic priming for spoken sentences can enhance phonological processing – the building blocks of speech – and whether audio–motor training enhances this effect. Participants heard a metrical prime followed by a sentence (with a matching/mismatching prosodic structure), for which they performed a phoneme detection task. Behavioural (RT) data was collected from two groups: one who received audio–motor training, and one who did not.We hypothesised that 1) phonological processing would be enhanced in matching conditions, and 2) audio–motor training with the musical rhythms would enhance this effect. Indeed, providing a matching rhythmic prime context resulted in faster phoneme detection, thus revealing a cross-domain effect of musical rhythm on phonological processing. In addition, our results indicate that rhythmic audio–motor training enhances this priming effect. These results have important implications for rhythm-based speech therapies, and suggest that metrical rhythm in music and speech may rely on shared temporal processing brain resources