Dog-directed speech: why do we use it and do dogs pay attention to it?
Dog-directed speech: why do we use it and do dogs pay attention to it?
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DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2016.2429
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发表时间：
2017-01-11
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Mathevon, Nicolas
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Ben-Aderet, Tobey;Gallego-Abenza, Mario;Mathevon, Nicolas
面向宠物的讲话与面向婴儿的讲话惊人地相似，这是一种独特的讲话模式，具有较高的音调和较慢的节奏，可以吸引婴儿的注意力并促进语言学习。在这里，我们报告了对调节狗导向言语的使用的潜在因素及其对狗行为的直接影响的首次调查。我们记录了成年参与者在小狗、成年狗和老狗的照片前讲话的情况，并分析了他们的讲话质量。然后，我们进行了回放实验，以评估狗对狗主导的语音与正常语音的反应。我们发现，人类说话者对所有年龄段的狗都使用狗导向语音，并且狗导向语音的声学结构基本上与狗的年龄无关，除了与小狗交流时音高相对较高之外。回放表明，在没有其他非听觉线索的情况下，小狗对狗主导的言语反应强烈，并且音调是调节其行为的关键因素，这表明这种特定的言语记录对幼犬具有功能价值。相反，与正常的言语相比，年长的狗对狗主导的言语的反应没有差异。因此，说话者继续对年长的狗使用狗引导的事实表明，这种说话模式可能主要是一种自发的尝试，以促进与非语言听众的互动。
Pet-directed speech is strikingly similar to infant-directed speech, a peculiar speaking pattern with higher pitch and slower tempo known to engage infants' attention and promote language learning. Here, we report the first investigation of potential factors modulating the use of dog-directed speech, as well as its immediate impact on dogs' behaviour. We recorded adult participants speaking in front of pictures of puppies, adult and old dogs, and analysed the quality of their speech. We then performed playback experiments to assess dogs' reaction to dog-directed speech compared with normal speech. We found that human speakers used dog-directed speech with dogs of all ages and that the acoustic structure of dog-directed speech was mostly independent of dog age, except for sound pitch which was relatively higher when communicating with puppies. Playback demonstrated that, in the absence of other non-auditory cues, puppies were highly reactive to dog-directed speech, and that the pitch was a key factor modulating their behaviour, suggesting that this specific speech register has a functional value in young dogs. Conversely, older dogs did not react differentially to dog-directed speech compared with normal speech. The fact that speakers continue to use dog-directed with older dogs therefore suggests that this speech pattern may mainly be a spontaneous attempt to facilitate interactions with non-verbal listeners.