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The structure and development of French prosodic representations
1ERS CNRS 591, Université de Poitiers, Département de Psychologie, France. claire.gerard@mshs.univ-poitiers.fr
Language and Speech
|April 9, 1999
Summary
Children acquire speech prosody gradually. Pitch control develops before rhythmic control in production, and perception of these forms matures later in development, with adults anticipating illocutionary forms.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
- Speech Science
Background:
- Prosody is vital for preverbal development and speech pragmatics.
- Understanding the acquisition of prosodic features in speech is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the production and perception of prosodic representations of illocutionary forms in children and adults.
- To compare the developmental trajectory of prosodic control and perception.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments used a semantic neutralization procedure comparing children (5, 7, 9 years) and adults.
- Production experiment: Acoustic analysis of four illocutionary forms (assertion, interrogation, happiness, sadness).
- Perception experiment: Word-by-word gating to identify illocutionary forms, including irony.
Main Results:
- Speech production: Fundamental frequency control acquired by 5-year-olds (linguistic mode), rhythmic control by 7-year-olds. Emotional mode control by 5-year-olds.
- Intonation planning was similar to adults, but duration planning differed.
- Speech perception: Only adults could anticipate illocutionary forms.
Conclusions:
- Prosodic representations are acquired gradually during childhood development.
- Pitch contour acquisition precedes duration parameter acquisition.
- Developmental differences exist in both production and perception of speech prosody.