Phonetics in the Brain

This Element outlines how our brains perceive and comprehend spoken language, from acoustic signals to discrete words and meanings.

Pelle Söderström (Author)

9781009507448, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 March 2024

86 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 1 cm, 0.28 kg

Spoken language is a rapidly unfolding signal: a complex code that the listener must crack to understand what is being said. From the structures of the inner ear through to higher-order areas of the brain, a hierarchy of interlinked processes transforms the acoustic signal into a linguistic message within fractions of a second. This Element outlines how we perceive speech and explores what the auditory system needs to achieve to make this possible. It traces a path through the system and discusses the mechanisms that enable us to perceive speech as a coherent sequence of words. This is combined with a brief history of research into language and the brain beginning in the nineteenth century, as well as an overview of the state-of-the-art neuroimaging and analysis techniques that are used to investigate phonetics in the brain today. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

1. Introduction
2. The birth of neurolinguistics
3. Neuroimaging
4. From sound to perception
5. Structure and function of the auditory system
6. Directions for future research
References.

Subject Areas: Phonetics, phonology [CFH]