2021/12/15 by Maja Linke, Michael Ramscar, Linke, Maja +1
Computer Science · Psychology · #FOS: Biological sciences #Language Development and Disorders #Neurons and Cognition (q-bio.NC) #Phonetics and Phonology Research #Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE) #Speech Recognition and Synthesis
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2112.08126
openalex publication_date 2021/12/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The intelligibility of speech relies on the ability of interlocutors to dynamically align their expectations about the rates at which informative changes in signals occur. Exactly how this is achieved remains an open question. We propose that speaker alignment is supported by the statistical structure of spoken signals and show how pauses offer a time-invariant template for structuring speech sequences. Consistent with this, we show that pause distributions in conversational English and Korean provide a memoryless information source. We describe how this can facilitate both the initial structuring and maintenance of predictability in spoken signals over time, and show how the properties of this signal change predictably with speaker experience. These results indicate that pauses provide a structuring signal that interacts with the morphological and rhythmical structure of languages, allowing speakers at all stages of lifespan development to distinguish signal from noise and maintain mutual predictability in time.