- We humans are known for yakking, a lot.
But it's the variety
of sounds that we make
that really connect with one another.
(easy listening guitar music)
We love our words, words, words.
In fact, we have more than a million
in the English language, and with them,
we can describe abstract
ideas like time and love,
and the US tax code.
But it turns out we not only recognize
meaning behind sounds
faster than we do words,
we also pay more attention to them.
So how fast do we tag
the meaning behind sound?
A 2016 study by McGill University found
that it takes only a tenth of a second
for someone else to understand the intent
behind a, "Nwah", "Ugh", or a "Hahahaha".
In this study, 24 participants listened
to a random mix of vocalizations,
(laughing)
and nonsense speech.
- [Voiceover] The derms!
- All of them spoken
with a different emotion,
anger, sadness, or happiness.
And if you're wondering why the gibberish?
Well, it was a clever way for researchers
to remove any emotional clues
that a coherent string of
words might evoke, like,
"I love you," as opposed
to "Plekertus Itas."
The participants responses
were gauged by EEG,
and the researchers found that,
not only did they respond
quicker to the sounds,
they also responded to happy vocalizations
faster than anger or sadness.
But it was anger that produced
ongoing brain activity
long after the sound was played,
more so than any other emotion.
And the more anxious the person,
the more sensitive they were
to all the vocalizations,
particularly anger,
which might be a clue as to why our brains
are more readily primed
for sound than words.
The parts of the brain that protect
emotional content and sound are much older
than the parts of the brain
that protect language.
These older systems are concerned
with responding to
stimuli quickly in order
to marshal the body's
resources for survivial.
It's just another stark
example of how language
is largely propped up by an
array of communication tools.
Some of them non-verbal and some of them,
non-specific assemblages
of vowels and consonants.
Hmm.
For more linguistic gymnastics
and other things being described by words,
make sure to drop in daily at
now.howstuffworks.com
(dong)
