Did you know that the sound we call /b/ or /k/ actually represents a whole range of sounds?
A whole variety of acoustic waves are heard as /b/. If you increase voice onset time slightly, in steps, at one point, it crosses a ‘boundary’ where it becomes /p./
The sound /k/ may be produced in a variety of ways, all identical to the speaker. But if you voice it slightly, more and more, eventually it will ‘become’ a /g/ sound.
Sounds describe a range of acoustic features, not an exact set of acoustic features. We’re very good at telling differences between these thresholds, but unable to tell differences between sounds within these categories.
This is called ‘categorical perception.’ In this case, expectations from natural language affect our ability to perceive the world.
It’s a hard-science example of how our perceptions are colored by our experiences and expectations.
It’s not that surprising that we perceive reality based on our past experiences. It’s just strange to talk about that, sometimes. It’s one of those things we’d rather accept and not talk about.
This whole closed-mindedness can be depressing, if you let it be. But it’s necessary. Being able to perceive a variety of inputs as a singular input helps us fit in together.
We are exist in ‘tribes’ of people who all agree that a certain range of sounds is /b/. It helps us understand each other. We’re meant to ignore certain things. We’ve evolved to be selectively ignorant so we can all agree on the basics.
