The prosodic perception‐production link: Impact of auditory‐perceptual acuity on prosodic cue production under cognitive load

Résumé fourni par la source

Speech perception and production are linked through shared neural representations, such that individual differences in auditory-perceptual acuity predict articulatory precision for segmental contrasts. Whether similar perception-production links (PP-links) extend to suprasegmental prosodic features, however, remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated whether individual differences in auditory-perceptual acuity for prosodic boundary cues (pitch range, pause duration, final lengthening) predict how those same cues are produced, and whether this relationship is modulated by cognitive load. Using Bayesian distributional models, we examined how auditory-perceptual acuity modulated both the distinctiveness (mean cue differences between bracket and no-bracket productions) and trial-to-trial variability of prosodic boundary cue production. The results revealed cue-specific PP-links. For pitch, higher auditory-perceptual acuity was associated with stronger modulation of the produced pitch range, and it further modulated trial-to-trial variability in pitch range under cognitive load: under high cognitive load, speakers with higher pitch acuity maintained variable pitch range patterns across all productions, whereas speakers with lower pitch acuity showed reduced pitch range variability. For pause duration, higher auditory-perceptual acuity was associated with greater trial-to-trial variability in pause duration and, exploratorily, with reduced reliance on pauses for boundary marking. Final lengthening showed no relationship between auditory-perceptual acuity and production. Across cues, cognitive load systematically affected both production distinctiveness and trial-to-trial variability, interacting with auditory-perceptual acuity in a cue-specific manner. These findings demonstrate a PP-link at the prosodic level that is not uniform across prosodic boundary cues and suggest that, particularly for pitch, higher auditory-perceptual acuity supports flexible and adaptive prosodic cue production. (*Veríssimo and Wartenburger share senior authorship.)

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