Interpreting the Language of Environmental Sounds

Comparisons are made between the perception of environmental sound and the perception of speech. With both, two types of processing are involved, bottom-up and top-down, and with both, the detailed form of the processing is, in several respects, similar. Recognition of isolated speech and environmen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environment and behavior 1987-01, Vol.19 (1), p.91-114
Main Authors: Ballas, James A., Howard, James H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustics
Perception
Recognition
Semantics
Speech
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Summary:Comparisons are made between the perception of environmental sound and the perception of speech. With both, two types of processing are involved, bottom-up and top-down, and with both, the detailed form of the processing is, in several respects, similar. Recognition of isolated speech and environmental sounds produces similar patterns of semantic interpretations. Environmental sound "homonyms" are ambiguous in much the same manner as speech homonyms. Environmental sounds become integrated on the basis of cognitive processes similar to those used to perceive speech. The general conclusion is that environmental sound is usefully thought of as a form of language.
ISSN:0013-9165
1552-390X
DOI:10.1177/0013916587191005