Evidence from Swedish Proverbs * *

Dual Processing of Language Hypothesis:"
Evidence from Swedish Proverbs
Anna Eva Hallin & Diana Sidtis, Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, New York University"
Background & Questions!
Proverbs and formulaic language!
Swedish prosody"
Research questions & hypotheses!
o  Formulaic language: familiar, conventionalized
expressions with stereotyped form (Van Lancker Sidtis,
o  Swedish is a pitch accent language with two
different word accents (Accent I & Accent II),
associated with two tonal patterns each
depending on degree of stress.
Is there a specific prosody in familiar proverbs in
terms of tonal patterns and speech rate?
2004; 2009)
o  Dual processing of language hypothesis
Formulaic utterances are stored holistically
and processed differently compared to novel
language (Van Lancker Sidtis, 2004; Wray & Perkins, 2004)
o  Tonal pattern at the sentence level: mostly
determined by syntax and stress (Bruce, 2012)
o  Interaction between word accents follows a
predictable pattern: Sentences with ≥3 words:
an initial and a final weight (=“standard” tonal
pattern)
o  Prosody: a less explored property of formulaic
utterances (Ashby 2006; Lin 2010a,b, 2012, 2013; Van Lancker et a. 1981)
o  Proverbs: infrequent, but one-trial exposure
sufficient for learning (Reuterskiöld & Van Lancker Sidtis, 2013)
Do children show the same patterns as adults?
o  A standard tonal pattern can be identified and
should be most common in control sentences.
o  Proverbs should show a prosody different from
the standard tonal pattern and rate.
o  Children should be less familiar with proverbs
overall but show similar prosody to adults in
the familiar proverbs.
!
Method!
Procedures!
Analyses!
o  Reading task
o  Swedish Tonal Transcription (Bruce, 2012)
o  ≥5 identical patterns in one sentence pair: Standard (more weight/stress) or Less stress (less weight/stress)
o  <5 identical: All other
Proverb: Ensam är stark (“Alone is strong”)
Weight/stress
Control: Lasse är svag (“Peter is weak”)
Participants
o  10 female adults, mean age 29 yrs old
o  5 children, mean age 12:11 yrs old
o  Native speakers of Stockholm Swedish
Type
Accent I
Accent II
Accent I
Accent II
Initial Tones
Final Tones
Tonal pattern
= (H)L*H
= H*LH
= HL*
= H*L
= %L, %H
= L%, LH%
250
250
Pitch (Hz)
(#words/syll., syntax, word accent)
Examples:
Pitch (Hz)
o  7 proverbs and matched control sentences
100
o  Proverb Familiarity Questionnaire
100
Lasse
(Peter
o  Speech rate (syllables/seconds)
H*LH
är
is
svag
weak)
Ensam
(Alone
H*L
H*L
är
is
stark
strong)
L%
Results!
Familiar Proverbs
*
Standard
Control Sentences
Control
Sentences
Familiar Proverbs
Familiar
Proverbs
Less stress
Other
Number of sentences
Control Sentences
Standard
Non-Standard
Standard
Familiar Proverbs
*
Children
Rate (Syllables/Second)
Control Sentences
Adults
Non-Standard
Tonal Patterns
o  Adults: The standard tonal pattern is used significantly more often in control sentences than in
proverbs (χ2(1) = 4.91, p = 0.027) and the less stress pattern significantly more often in proverbs.
o  Children: Distribution of standard and less stress patterns similar to adults, but chi-square N.S.
Speech Rate!
o  Proverbs significantly faster speaking rate compared to control sentences (t(85)=5.56, p<0.0001).
Standard
Non-Standard
Standard
Non-Standard
No group differences.
Discussion & Conclusion!
!
Is there a proverb-specific prosody?
Variability in children!
Conclusion!
o  Personally familiar proverbs were significantly
more often spoken with a less stress prosodic
pattern, and a faster speaking rate
o  Children had a faster rate in proverbs and
showed evidence of the same “less stress”
pattern as adults – effect of familiarity?
o  Gives support to differentiated processing of
proverbs compared to novel control sentences
and that formulaic utterances are stored as
holistic complex motor gestures (Van Lancker Sidtis 2012).
Limitations!
The current project gives additional support to
the dual processing of language hypothesis:
Prosodic production in adult speakers is different
for proverbs compared to matched control
sentences in terms of both speech rate and tonal
patterns, indicating faster processing suggesting
that a prosodic pattern is stored with the form of
the utterance.
o  Few children included
o  Task effects: Reading task less natural
o  2/7 proverbs showed idiosyncratic patterns that
were never present in the control sentence
Acknowledgements: Susannah Levi, Christina Reuterskiöld, all participants
Contact: ae.hallin@nyu.edu
#
1
Included Proverbs and Translations
Borta bra men hemma bäst.
Matched Control Sentence and Translations
Ute kallt men inne varmt.
Away good but at home best.
Outside cold but inside warm.
2
Bättre sent än aldrig.
Bättre kallt än ljummet.
Better late than never.
Better cold than lukewarm.
3
Den som spar han har.
Den som står han ser.
The one who saves he has.
The one who stands he sees.
4
Lagt kort ligger.
Lat man sitter.
Laid card lies.
Lazy man sits.
5
Det som inte dödar, härdar.
Den som inte stannar, ramlar.
That which doesn’t kill, toughens.
The one who doesn’t stop, falls.
6
När katten är borta dansar råttorna på bordet.
När hästen är ute städar skötaren i stallet.
When the cat is away, the rats dance on the table.
When the horse is outside, the keeper cleans in the stable.
7
Ensam är stark.
Lasse är svag.
Alone is strong.
Peter is weak.
Cross-tabulation of personally familiar (recognized) proverbs vs. matched control sentences and three prosodic
patterns for adult female speakers, percentages in parenthesis. Standardized residuals appear below observed
frequencies/percentages
Sentence type
Control
Prosodic pattern
Proverb
Standard (A)
26 (37%)
-3.04*
44 (63%)
3.04*
Less stress (B)
24 (34%)
3.96**
5 (7%)
-3.96**
Other (C)
20 (29%)
-0.18ns
21 (30%)
0.18 ns
Total
70 (100%)
70 (100%)
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