Chapter 87 Processing Tone Languages
In tone languages, changes in pitch variations can signal differences in the lexical meaning of a word. We report advances in our understanding of the neurobiology of lexical tone at different stages of pitch processing in cortical and subcortical brain structures since the turn of the century. We present a critical evaluation of evidence obtained from recent studies that have focused on issues related to processing of: tonal versus lexical semantic information; tonal versus segmental elements; tonal features; tones versus tunes; tones versus other suprasegmental elements; and categorical perception of tone. We conclude that subcortical sensory encoding interacts with cognitive processing in the cerebral cortex to shape the responses of the brain as required by the structural properties of a particular language. A fuller understanding of the neurobiology of language can only emerge from consideration of general sensory motor and cognitive processes in addition to those associated with language.