Interpreting the Language of Environmental Sounds
- 1 January 1987
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Environment and Behavior
- Vol. 19 (1) , 91-114
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916587191005
Abstract
Comparisons are made between the perception of environmental sound and the perception of speech. With both, two types of processing are involved, bottom-up and top-down, and with both, the detailed form of the processing is, in several respects, similar. Recognition of isolated speech and environmental sounds produces similar patterns of semantic interpretations. Environmental sound "homonyms" are ambiguous in much the same manner as speech homonyms. Environmental sounds become integrated on the basis of cognitive processes similar to those used to perceive speech. The general conclusion is that environmental sound is usefully thought of as a form of language.Keywords
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