What Makes Sound Patterns Expressive?

The Poetic Mode of Speech Perception

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Reading, Phonetics & Phonics, Linguistics
Cover of the book What Makes Sound Patterns Expressive? by Reuven Tsur, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Reuven Tsur ISBN: 9780822378365
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: January 31, 1992
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Reuven Tsur
ISBN: 9780822378365
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: January 31, 1992
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

Poets, academics, and those who simply speak a language are subject to mysterious intuitions about the perceptual qualities and emotional symbolism of the sounds of speech. Such intuitions are Reuven Tsur’s point of departure in this investigation into the expressive effect of sound patterns, addressing questions of great concern for literary theorists and critics as well as for linguists and psychologists.
Research in recent decades has established two distinct types of aural perception: a nonspeech mode, in which the acoustic signals are received in the manner of musical sounds or natural noises; and a speech mode, in which acoustic signals are excluded from awareness and only an abstract phonetic category is perceived. Here, Tsur proposes a third type of speech perception, a poetic mode in which some part of the acoustic signal becomes accessible, however faintly, to consciousness.
Using Roman Jakobson’s model of childhood acquisition of the phonological system, Tsur shows how the nonreferential babbling sounds made by infants form a basis for aesthetic valuation of language. He tests the intersubjective and intercultural validity of various spatial and tactile metaphors for certain sounds. Illustrating his insights with reference to particular literary texts, Tsur considers the relative merits of cognitive and psychoanalytic approaches to the emotional symbolism of speech sounds.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Poets, academics, and those who simply speak a language are subject to mysterious intuitions about the perceptual qualities and emotional symbolism of the sounds of speech. Such intuitions are Reuven Tsur’s point of departure in this investigation into the expressive effect of sound patterns, addressing questions of great concern for literary theorists and critics as well as for linguists and psychologists.
Research in recent decades has established two distinct types of aural perception: a nonspeech mode, in which the acoustic signals are received in the manner of musical sounds or natural noises; and a speech mode, in which acoustic signals are excluded from awareness and only an abstract phonetic category is perceived. Here, Tsur proposes a third type of speech perception, a poetic mode in which some part of the acoustic signal becomes accessible, however faintly, to consciousness.
Using Roman Jakobson’s model of childhood acquisition of the phonological system, Tsur shows how the nonreferential babbling sounds made by infants form a basis for aesthetic valuation of language. He tests the intersubjective and intercultural validity of various spatial and tactile metaphors for certain sounds. Illustrating his insights with reference to particular literary texts, Tsur considers the relative merits of cognitive and psychoanalytic approaches to the emotional symbolism of speech sounds.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Global Divas by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Bright Signals by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Belated Travelers by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Novel Gazing by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Sex, or the Unbearable by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Prejudicial Appearances by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Rural Revolt in Mexico by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Energy without Conscience by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book On Humor by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Metabolic Living by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Black Queer Studies by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Managing the Environmental Crisis by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Duress by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Mutual Misunderstanding by Reuven Tsur
Cover of the book Insult and the Making of the Gay Self by Reuven Tsur
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy