Syllable as a unit of information transfer in linguistic communication: The entropy syllable parsing model
- PMID: 31505710
- DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1518
Syllable as a unit of information transfer in linguistic communication: The entropy syllable parsing model
Abstract
To understand human language-both spoken and signed-the listener or viewer has to parse the continuous external signal into components. The question of what those components are (e.g., phrases, words, sounds, phonemes?) has been a subject of long-standing debate. We re-frame this question to ask: What properties of the incoming visual or auditory signal are indispensable to eliciting language comprehension? In this review, we assess the phenomenon of language parsing from modality-independent viewpoint. We show that the interplay between dynamic changes in the entropy of the signal and between neural entrainment to the signal at syllable level (4-5 Hz range) is causally related to language comprehension in both speech and sign language. This modality-independent Entropy Syllable Parsing model for the linguistic signal offers insight into the mechanisms of language processing, suggesting common neurocomputational bases for syllables in speech and sign language. This article is categorized under: Linguistics > Linguistic Theory Linguistics > Language in Mind and Brain Linguistics > Computational Models of Language Psychology > Language.
Keywords: entrainment; parsing; segmentation; sign language; syllable.
© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Similar articles
-
The relation between working memory and language comprehension in signers and speakers.Acta Psychol (Amst). 2017 Jun;177:69-77. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2017.04.014. Epub 2017 May 5. Acta Psychol (Amst). 2017. PMID: 28477456 Free PMC article.
-
Neural Signatures of Hierarchical Linguistic Structures in Second Language Listening Comprehension.eNeuro. 2023 Jun 26;10(6):ENEURO.0346-22.2023. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0346-22.2023. Print 2023 Jun. eNeuro. 2023. PMID: 37328296 Free PMC article.
-
Shared neural and cognitive mechanisms in action and language: The multiscale information transfer framework.Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci. 2019 Mar;10(2):e1484. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1484. Epub 2018 Nov 12. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci. 2019. PMID: 30417551 Review.
-
Perceptual evidence against internal structure in American Sign Language syllables.Lang Speech. 1991 Jan-Mar;34 ( Pt 1):27-46. doi: 10.1177/002383099103400102. Lang Speech. 1991. PMID: 1819681
-
Statistical evidence that a child can create a combinatorial linguistic system without external linguistic input: Implications for language evolution.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2017 Oct;81(Pt B):150-157. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.016. Epub 2016 Dec 29. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2017. PMID: 28041786 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Absence of Rhythm Benefit on Speech in Noise Recognition in Children Diagnosed With Auditory Processing Disorder.Front Neurosci. 2020 May 5;14:418. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00418. eCollection 2020. Front Neurosci. 2020. PMID: 32477048 Free PMC article.
-
A multimodal approach to automated hierarchical assessment of bulbar involvement in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Front Neurol. 2024 May 21;15:1396002. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1396002. eCollection 2024. Front Neurol. 2024. PMID: 38836001 Free PMC article.
-
Prediction underlying comprehension of human motion: an analysis of Deaf signer and non-signer EEG in response to visual stimuli.Front Neurosci. 2023 Oct 12;17:1218510. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1218510. eCollection 2023. Front Neurosci. 2023. PMID: 37901437 Free PMC article.
-
Subclinical articulatory changes of vowel parameters in Korean amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients with perceptually normal voices.PLoS One. 2023 Oct 13;18(10):e0292460. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292460. eCollection 2023. PLoS One. 2023. PMID: 37831677 Free PMC article.
-
Age of acquisition effects differ across linguistic domains in sign language: EEG evidence.Brain Lang. 2020 Jan;200:104708. doi: 10.1016/j.bandl.2019.104708. Epub 2019 Nov 4. Brain Lang. 2020. PMID: 31698097 Free PMC article.
References
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources