Is gesture-speech physics at work in rhythmic pointing? Evidence from Polish counting-out rhymes
Published in Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, 2023
Recommended citation: Kadavá, Š., Ćwiek, A., Stoltmann, K., Fuchs, S., & Pouw, W. (2023). Is gesture-speech physics at work in rhythmic pointing? Evidence from Polish counting-out rhymes. Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS 2023), Prague, Czech Republic. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/67fzc
Gesture-speech physics’ refers to a possible biomechanical coupling between manual gesture and speech. According to this thesis, rapid gesturing leaves a direct imprint on acoustics (intensity, F0), as gesture accelerations/decelerations increase expiratory forces and therefore subglottal pressure, leading to higher amplitude envelope peaks and higher F0 values. This acoustic effect has been reported in lab experiments, spontaneous speech, clinical studies, and professional vocal performers. The current study investigates this phenomenon in Polish counting-out rhymes, using motion capture data and acoustic recordings from 11 native Polish speakers. Following the gesture-speech physics thesis, we expect acceleration/deceleration peaks to be correlated with speech intensity/F0. Through Bayesian analyses, we obtained a weak but reliable coupling of deceleration of the pointing hand and the nearest peak in the smoothed amplitude envelope.