A key characteristic of human language efficiency is that more frequently used words tend to be shorter in length-the 'law of brevity'. To date, no test of this relationship between frequency of use and length has been carried out on non-human animal vocal communication. We show here that the vocal repertoire of the Formosan macaque (Macaca cyclopis) conforms to the pattern predicted by the law of brevity, with an inverse relationship found between call duration and rate of utterance. This finding provides evidence for coding efficiency in the vocal communication system of this species, and indicates commonality in the basic structure of the coding system between human language and vocal communication in this non-human primate.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2936212 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.1062 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Vocal Outcome Following Thyroidectomy for Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma.
J Clin Med
December 2024
ENT Division, Health Science Department, School of Medicine, 28100 Novara, Italy.
Voice alteration is a recognized complication of thyroid surgery, impacting the quality of life and communication for affected individuals. In this prospective observational study, the Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) was employed to assess vocal outcomes after thyroidectomy. Between February 2018 and August 2022, 224 patients underwent Thyroid surgery in our department, of which 74 with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) were enrolled in accordance with the inclusion criteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSensitivity of Acoustic Voice Quality Measures in Simulated Reverberation Conditions.
Bioengineering (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Room reverberation can affect oral/aural communication and is especially critical in computer analysis of voice. High levels of reverberation can distort voice recordings, impacting the accuracy of quantifying voice production quality and vocal health evaluations. This study quantifies the impact of additive simulated reverberation on otherwise clean voice recordings as reflected in voice metrics commonly used for voice quality evaluation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSitting Acquisition and Early Communication Development: Are There Associations in Very Preterm Infants at Six Months of Corrected Age?
Children (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Psychology "Renzo Canestrari", University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
: Research in typically and some atypically developing populations showed associations between early motor and communication development, documenting how postural development can support communicative advancements. However, these relations have scarcely been investigated in the preterm population. : The present study aimed to describe motor (gross and fine motor) and communication (receptive and expressive) skills of very preterm infants at six months of corrected age and their associations, focusing on sitting posture achievement and early vocal production.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFShort-Term Effects of Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Therapy on the Phonation of Children With Vocal Fold Nodules: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
J Speech Lang Hear Res
January 2025
Center for Speech and Language Sciences, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium.
Purpose: The aim was to determine and compare the short-term effects of two intensive semi-occluded vocal tract (SOVT) programs, "straw phonation" (SP) and "resonant voice therapy" (RVT), on the phonation of children with vocal fold nodules.
Method: A pretest-posttest randomized controlled study design was used. Thirty children aged 6-12 years were randomly assigned to the SP group ( = 11), RVT group ( = 11), or control group receiving indirect treatment ( = 8) for their voice problems.
Cepstral Peak Prominence: A Valuable Measure of Voice Outcome Severity in Patients With Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis.
J Voice
January 2025
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; School of Medicine, Mackay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Mackay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Electronic address:
Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between the position of the paralyzed vocal fold and voice quality in patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) and identified a reliable acoustic analysis tool to enhance the accuracy of voice quality assessments in this population.
Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted with 70 patients with UVFP diagnosed at Mackay Memorial Hospital. Acoustic features-jitter, shimmer, the harmonic-to-noise ratio (HNR), and the cepstral peak prominence smoothed (CPPs)-were analyzed using the Praat software.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!