COMPARATIVE METHOD FOR DETERMINING LEXICAL STRESS IN NONSENSE WORDS

摘要

1．Goals Language is a defining feature of human nature. Through comparative work, researchers can tease apart what aspects of language are uniquely human, and what aspects can be found in other species (Hauser, Chomsky & Fitch, 2002). To date, phonology has received less attention than syntax in nonhuman animals despite also being a fundamental system underlying language (Yip, 2006). One aspect of phonology is lexical stress. The ability to perceive lexical stress is important because it can help a listener segment speech and distinguish the meaning of words and sentences. In English, for example, different stress patterns can change the meanings of words (e.g. permit vs. permit). Our goal was to develop a paradigm to test the acoustical features that determine the perception of lexical stress in humans that can also be used to test other species.