Segments in animal vocalizations: A novel approach to understanding non- human vocal behavior

Research comparing human and non-human animal communication has made great strides over the past half-century, yet, aspects of vocal behavior remain unexplored.

In non-human animal vocal behavior, the smallest unit of analysis is the syllable or breath group, where intakes of breath divide the acoustic stream. Humans, however, can utter full words, phrases, and even sentences between intervals of silence.

If alien researchers used the breath group as the smallest domain of analysis in human vocal behavior, they would be confused as to how “five spiders” and “more than four spiders” elicits similar responses but “five spiders” and “five ciders” are treated completely differently.

In humans, segments – units that build words and phrases and are divided by acoustic transitions rather than silent intervals – are central to our understanding of language and have clarified the extent and limits to cross-population variability, how humans categorize acoustic stimuli, how languages change over time, and how learning and biology interact to create culture.

Because of the central role in understanding language, segment analyses can greatly enhance our understanding of animal vocal behavior, as well.

Building on my PhD research, I will further develop tools, methods, and experimental protocols to study the production and perception of non-human vocal segments.

While the experimental work will focus on the non-stereotyped vocalizations of budgerigars (a small parrot species), I will apply a segmental approach to the vocalizations of a range of species. Because these segments are more acoustically analogous, they provide better units of comparison across species.