Music and Speech Perception
Jeremy M. Wolfe, Dennis Michael Levi, Lori L. Holt, Linda M. Bartoshuk, Rachel S. Herz, Roberta L. Klatzky, Daniel M. Merfeld · Oxford University Press eBooks · 2024
This chapter examines the intricate relationship between music perception and speech perception, highlighting their shared roots in physical acoustics and their unique roles in human communication. It explains how music, through elements such as pitch, rhythm, and cultural variation, expresses emotions and shapes personal and collective identities. The chapter explores speech perception by describing its production mechanics—respiration, phonation, and articulation—and showing how unique human anatomy enables precise and flexible communication. It addresses key challenges in understanding speech perception, such as coarticulation and categorical perception, and explains how redundancy in acoustic cues supports comprehension. Finally, the chapter examines the profound influence of experience, beginning prenatally, in shaping our auditory capabilities and cultural language comprehension.