Why some syllables in a language are more common
Why are some syllables in a language more common than others, and why does the same hierarchy of frequency of use of certain syllables occur in different languages? For example, in many different languages, the syllable blog is more common than lbog. And the syllables blif> bnif> bdif> lbif in different languages occur in exactly this order of frequency. Where do these universal hierarchies of sound combinations according to their preferences come from?
The initial assumption of scientists was that the preference of syllables is affected by the simplicity of their pronunciation, as well as the simplicity of recognition in the speech of another person. But in the course of the experiments they found out that the differences in the difficulty of pronunciation are not the only reason for the hierarchy of syllables. Syllables from the lower levels of the hierarchy (such as lbif) are less preferable, not because they are associated with the greatest motor costs, but, on the contrary, their lower preference reduces the activity of the motor regions, which leads to worse recognition. That is, the activity of motor areas is not the cause of linguistic preferences, but their consequence. Apparently, the basic elements that make up speech are selected by other criteria, for example, by productivity — the ability to combine well with many other syllables. It turns out that in the selection of syllables at the level of human physiology, not only the ease of pronunciation of sounds and the complexity of their representations in the brain, but also more abstract linguistic laws play a role.
Read more in the article on "Elements" .
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Original study .
The initial assumption of scientists was that the preference of syllables is affected by the simplicity of their pronunciation, as well as the simplicity of recognition in the speech of another person. But in the course of the experiments they found out that the differences in the difficulty of pronunciation are not the only reason for the hierarchy of syllables. Syllables from the lower levels of the hierarchy (such as lbif) are less preferable, not because they are associated with the greatest motor costs, but, on the contrary, their lower preference reduces the activity of the motor regions, which leads to worse recognition. That is, the activity of motor areas is not the cause of linguistic preferences, but their consequence. Apparently, the basic elements that make up speech are selected by other criteria, for example, by productivity — the ability to combine well with many other syllables. It turns out that in the selection of syllables at the level of human physiology, not only the ease of pronunciation of sounds and the complexity of their representations in the brain, but also more abstract linguistic laws play a role.
Read more in the article on "Elements" .
')
Original study .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/366153/
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