Universal Pace of Human Speech Consistently Holds at a 1.6-Second Interval
In a groundbreaking study published in the prestigious journal PNAS, researchers Maya Inbar and a team of co-authors, including Professors Grossman from Hebrew University's Department of Linguistics and Landau who holds appointments at Hebrew University, University College London, and the Department of Psychology at Hebrew University, have shed light on a universal feature of human language.
The study, which is currently closed access, reveals that Intonation Units (IUs), hypothetical building blocks of human language, possess a low-frequency rhythm of approximately 0.6 Hertz. This slow rhythm aligns with cognitive and physiological constraints in speech processing, facilitating the mapping of unlimited meanings onto sequential signals within the human temporal processing window.
The research team analysed speech recordings from 48 languages from every continent and 27 distinct language families. Their findings suggest that IUs are a universal feature of human language. The study also found a low-frequency rate of Intonation Units, with a peak at 0.6 Hz, and little variation between sexes or across the life span.
Interestingly, the study found that the Intonation Unit rate is only weakly related to speech rate quantified at the syllable level. This indicates that the rhythm of IUs is an independent aspect of language structure, not directly tied to the speed of speech.
The understanding of the temporal structure of Intonation Units can bridge neuroscience, linguistics, and psychology, offering new insights into the workings of human language. The research provides a solid foundation for further studies in this area, aiming to unravel the mysteries of human communication.
Despite its groundbreaking findings, the study remains closed access, limiting its immediate impact and accessibility to a broader audience. However, the implications of this research could potentially reshape our understanding of human language and its underlying structures.
