Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Hearing01:31

Hearing

51.8K
When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.
51.8K
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

238
Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
238
Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory01:22

Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory

144
Improving short-term memory can be achieved through techniques like chunking and rehearsal. Chunking involves organizing information into larger, more manageable units. This technique is particularly useful for information that exceeds the typical memory span of between five and nine items. For instance, logging into an online account with a password like "ta89vq0179gz" involves grouping letters and numbers into three chunks—ta89, vq01, and 79gz. It makes large amounts of...
144
Beats01:09

Beats

497
The study of music provides many examples of the superposition of waves and the constructive and destructive interference that occurs. Very few examples of music being performed consist of a single source playing a single frequency for an extended period of time. A single frequency of sound for an extended period might be monotonous to the point of irritation, similar to the unwanted drone of an aircraft engine or a loud fan. Music is pleasant and exciting due to mixing the changing frequencies...
497
The Auditory Ossicles01:11

The Auditory Ossicles

1.5K
The auditory ossicles of the middle ear transmit sounds from the air as vibrations to the fluid-filled cochlea. The auditory ossicles consist of two malleus (hammer) bones, two incus (anvil) bones, and two stapes (stirrups), one on each side. These bones develop during the fetal stage and are the ones to ossify first. They are fully mature at birth and do not grow afterward.
The aptly named stapes look very much like a stirrup. The three ossicles are unique to mammals, and each plays a role in...
1.5K
Language Development01:22

Language Development

314
Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
314

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Focus perception in Japanese: Effects of lexical accent and focus location.

PloS one·2022
Same author

Computational Modelling of Tone Perception Based on Direct Processing of <i>f</i><sub>0</sub> Contours.

Brain sciences·2022
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 2025

Eliciting and Analyzing Male Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalization USV Songs
08:44

Eliciting and Analyzing Male Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalization USV Songs

Published on: May 9, 2017

15.7K

Syllable as a Synchronization Mechanism That Makes Human Speech Possible.

Yi Xu1

  • 1Department of Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, Chandler House 2 Wakefield Street, London WC1N 1PF, UK.

Brain Sciences
|January 24, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Speech production simplifies complex motor control by synchronizing movements into syllables. This theory explains how syllables, through specific mechanisms, manage degrees of freedom and coarticulation in speech.

Keywords:
articulationresyllabificationsegmentationspeech motor controlspeech productionsyllablesynchronizationtarget approximation

More Related Videos

Bouncing Ball with a Uniformly Varying Velocity in a Metronome Synchronization Task
05:04

Bouncing Ball with a Uniformly Varying Velocity in a Metronome Synchronization Task

Published on: September 21, 2017

5.9K
Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody
09:09

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Published on: September 27, 2024

393

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 31, 2025

Eliciting and Analyzing Male Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalization USV Songs
08:44

Eliciting and Analyzing Male Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalization USV Songs

Published on: May 9, 2017

15.7K
Bouncing Ball with a Uniformly Varying Velocity in a Metronome Synchronization Task
05:04

Bouncing Ball with a Uniformly Varying Velocity in a Metronome Synchronization Task

Published on: September 21, 2017

5.9K
Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody
09:09

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Published on: September 27, 2024

393

Area of Science:

  • Motor control and speech science
  • Linguistics and phonetics

Background:

  • Speech is a complex motor skill facing the challenge of reducing degrees of freedom (DOF).
  • Existing models struggle to fully explain the temporal coordination of speech movements.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a synchronization theory of the syllable as a solution to the DOF problem in speech.
  • To explain how syllable formation accounts for coarticulation and suprasegmental features.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical modeling of speech motor control.
  • Analysis of articulatory mechanisms including target approximation, edge-synchronization, and tactile anchoring.

Main Results:

  • The syllable acts as a temporal synchronizer for consonantal, vocalic, and laryngeal gestures.
  • Coarticulation phenomena are explained as byproducts of syllable formation.
  • The theory provides a basis for aligning segmental and suprasegmental speech events.

Conclusions:

  • Syllable synchronization is a key mechanism for managing degrees of freedom in speech production.
  • This theory offers a unified account of various speech phenomena, including coarticulation and prosody.
  • The findings have implications for understanding vocal learning, speech disorders, and general motor control.