All languages instantiate a consonant/vowel contrast. This contrast has processing
consequences at different levels of spoken-language recognition throughout the lifespan. In …

Abstract Language existed before human populations became separated (all descendant
populations have language) but language did not emerge until long after these population …

We have proposed that consonants give cues primarily about the lexicon, whereas vowels
carry cues about syntax. In a study supporting this hypothesis, we showed that when …

Adult listeners systematically associate certain speech sounds with round or spiky shapes, a
sound-symbolic phenomenon known as the “bouba-kiki effect.” In this study, we investigate …

Abstract Language acquisition involves both acquiring a set of words (ie the lexicon) and
learning the rules that combine them to form sentences (ie syntax). Here, we show that …

Africa's paleo-climate change represents an “ecological black-box” along the evolutionary
timeline of spoken language; a vocal hominid went in and, millions of years later, out came a …

To become language users, infants must embrace the integrality of speech perception and
production. That they do so, and quite rapidly, is implied by the native-language attunement …

In languages with word‐level stress, segmentally matched stressed and unstressed
syllables (such as the first syllables of English camper and campaign) differ acoustically, but …

Infant and adult learners are able to identify word boundaries in fluent speech using
statistical information. Similarly, learners are able to use statistical information to identify …

Consonants have been proposed to carry more of the weight of lexical processing than
vowels. This consonant bias has consistently been found in adults and has been proposed …