timely, corfu, · pdf filemalaysian choral speaking. timely, ... synchronized activity...

TIMELY, Corfu, 2013

Abstract:

Speech has conventionally been considered as the kind of thing that is done by one person at a

time. Yet there are many situations in which we speak by saying the same thing at the same time: in

classrooms, churches, temples, sports stadia, and on the street. Joint speaking has not yet been

subject to scientific study, which is surprising, given its rich embedding in cultural and educational

practices throughout the world. There are many questions we may ask in this domain.

A laboratory variant of joint speaking, which I call Synchronous Speech, has revealed some

characteristics of joint speech that are of potential interest to phoneticians and cognitive scientists.

Speakers can speak fluently while remaining in very tight synchrony with a co-speaker, even when

reading novel texts. This particular form of synchronized action has some characteristics that make

it different from every other case in which people synchronize skilled action. I will suggest that we

might begin to develop an account in which two synchronized speakers are usefully regarded as a

transiently assembled single system, rather than as two entirely separate systems.

TIMELY, Corfu, 2013

Synchronized Speaking:

What speaking together can tell us about skilled action

Fred Cummins

University College Dublin

TIMELY, Corfu, 2013

Act 1:

On Speaking Jointly

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Joint Speech

Choral speaking

Chanting

Group recitation

Synchronous Speaking

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1.2

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Malaysian choral speaking

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A ubiquitous human behavior . . .

Deeply ingrained in our practices of education

. . . of worship

. . . of protest

. . . of group display

Has not yet been studied scientifically.???

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To do list . . .

* Why do people speak jointly?

* How does speaking jointly affect motivation,

identification, purpose, group behavior, etc etc?

* How does joint speaking affect prosody?

* Does text familiarity matter?

* Is joint speaking effective for teaching?

* How is joint speaking possible at all?

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Act 2:

On Speaking

Synchronously

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Synchronous Speech

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Synchronous Speech

Mean asynchrony, without practice: 40 ms

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Vision helps a little bit (about 20 ms at phrase

onset)

Synchrony is slightly worse at phrase onset (ca.

60 ms vs 40 ms medially)

Practice does not improve performance much

People find the task natural and surprisingly

easy

A few findings:

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In English, (dyadic) prosody is largely unaltered,

and rate is relatively slow:

synchronous: solo:

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This may provide a way of eliciting relatively

inexpressive speech.

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In Mandarin Chinese, we often find an

exaggeration of syllable timing:

solo: synchronous:

Caution is required: we still don’t know how

speech is modified when spoken synchronously

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Act 3:

On Acting in Synchrony

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Is synchronized speaking different from other

forms of synchronized activity?

Technical note: “Synchronization” here means

doing the “same thing” at the “same time”.

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Synchronized swimming: not very synchronized

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Trampolining: much better!

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Diving: really tightly synchronized!

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Synchronized activity normally has one or both of

these:

[1] A beat or periodic timekeeper

(dancing, rowing, trampolining)

[2] Strong gravitational or inertial constraints

(diving, rowing, trampolining)

Synchronous speaking exhibits neither?????

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Despite rumours to the contrary,

Speech is NOT periodic

[1] A beat or periodic timekeeper

(dancing, rowing, trampolining)

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Speech is also curiously unfettered,

Occurring almost shielded from the world

[2] Strong gravitational or inertial constraints

(diving, rowing, trampolining)

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Synchronous speech challenges our

accounts of joint action

We can not lean too heavily on periodicity or

inertial constraints in accounting for

synchronization

We need to incorporate an account of the skill

that is shared by speakers (rowers, divers, . .

.)

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Act 4:

Some Theoretical

Considerations

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Inner Speech Outer Speech Joint Speech

Vygotsky

Merleau-Ponty

Wittgenstein

Sheets-Johnstone

Fodor/Chomsky

Vacancy

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Theoretical accounts of synchronization

Psychological

Cognitivist

Dynamicist

Enactive

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Just what should be attributed to the actors as

individuals?

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... and what should be regarded as an irreducible,

emergent property of the interaction?

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Most psychological accounts regard the brain as a

predictive machine:

“Representation hungry” approaches

All explanation lies at the level of the individual

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I predict you predicting me predicting you predicting

me predicting you predicting me predicting you

predicting me predicting you predicting me predicting

you predicting me predicting you . . .

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Synchronous Speaking provides a

benchmark case study for embodied,

enactive, and dynamical accounts of

skilled action.

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speaking speaking in synchrony

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A transient domain of relative autonomy

with no central locus of control

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Demo courtesy of Lancaster University

Entrainment among periodic systems

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Disintegration of a 2-person coordinative domain

Big dinosaurs and bigger Daleks in battle

Example 1:

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Example 2

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Outstanding issue: How do we marry the

mathematical language of entrainment, which

depends on periodicity, to the case of

synchronous speech?

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Act 5:

Summary and

Coda

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Summary:

Joint Speech: Ubiquitous

Distinct

Virtually unstudied

Offers new ways of understanding the

essence of speech

Synchronous Speech: A Lab Model

Simple to study

Challenging to explain

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Coda: Synchronization and Creativity

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Notice how David Attenborough only has one

form of explanation at his disposal: the

individualistic/psychological account.

Perhaps we need to open up the space of

explanation, and provide a plurality of accounts,

with different commitments with respect to

agency.

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fin

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