Sound

Abstract

Abstract Sound exists only when it is going out of existence. It is not simply perishable but essentially evanescent. . Ong, 1982, p. 32 The standard distinction among the terms meaning, imagery, and sound has been applied here, in part based on neuropsychological data. Like patterns of meaning and imagery, patterns of sound are viewed as constraints that cue memories and restrict choices. In the first section of this chapter, some general properties of sound that elude the more structural and experimental approaches of cognitive psychology are considered. The second section, which is of interest mainly to psychologists, examines the biases against the study of patterns of sound in psychology and provides arguments against them. The final two main sections examine two major forms of sound pattern: the poetic devices of repetition of sound, including rhyme, alliteration, and assonance, and the timing of sound, as discussed under rhythm and meter. Some mention of music is included, but, in general, is left to those with greater expertise (for reviews, see Deutsch, 1982; Dowling & Harwood, 1986; Sloboda, 1985).