Rhythm in speech and music

In this project, we study how the rhythmic properties of languages interact in different speakers as well as in different domains. Specifically, we ask whether the productions of early bilinguals differ from the production of monolinguals in the rhythmic properties in all background languages. We are furthermore interested in the consequences of knowing two (or multiple) languages with different rhythmic properties for additional language learning
In a second part of this project, we investigate parallels between linguistic rhythm and vocal music. To that end, we have so far examined Turkish, a language that is assumed to be a syllable-timed language, and tested whether rhythmic differences are found in adult-directed and child-directed music within the same language, controlling for different musical traditions. So far, our analyses have shown that language-specific rhythmic properties as operationalized by canonical rhythm metrics are not directly mirrored, which could be inversely related to the degree of metrical alignment (see music-language alignment).

Team

Prof. Dr. Barış Kabak
Dr. Christina Domene Moreno

Publications

Domeno Moreno, C. and B. Kabak. (to appear). Monolingual-bilingual (non-)convergence in L3 rhythm. In: R. Fuchs (ed.), Speech Rhythm in L1, L2 and Learner Varieties of English (Book Series: Prosody, Phonology and Phonetics). Springer.

Kabak, B. and C. Domene Moreno. (2019). Prosodic cues for rhythm in adult vs. child-directed songs. Paper presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the German Society of Linguistics (DGfS). University of Bremen. 06-08.03.2019.

Domene Moreno, C. and B. Kabak. (2018). Bilingual and monolingual speech rhythm in additional language learning. Paper presented at the 28th Conference of the European Second Language Association (EUROSLA 28). University of Münster. 05-08.09.2018.