Answer Question
Guest Talk with Dr. Jon T. Sakata: Universality of ”universals”: prevalence of common speech and music patterns wi
Despite the large variation in the acoustic structure of speech and music around the world, there are numerous acoustic patterns that are more common than expected by chance (i.e., speech or music “universals”). Given their prevalence, it is important to discern the factors that contribute to these patterns, and one possibility is that speech and music universals reflect biological predispositions in vocal learning and production. Songbirds offer powerful opportunities to understand the biological mechanisms underlying vocal acquisition and performance. This is because (a) songbirds learn their vocalizations in a manner that resembles how humans acquire speech and music, (b) both songbird and human vocalizations rely on the coordinated regulation of vocal and respiratory anatomy, and (c) songbirds possess neural circuits for song learning and performance that are functionally analogous to those subserving speech and music. For this talk I will discuss the prevalence of speech and music universals within the songs of songbirds and highlight the contribution of learning predispositions to the emergence of these patterns.
