This study investigates the effects of prosodic sensitivity on reading. Highly capable adult musicians (i.e., persons with potentially excellent prosodic skills) and non-musicians were compared in terms of prosodic sensitivity and reading. Furthermore, the study examines possible reciprocal effects of prosodic sensitivity and reading. Sixty native German-speaking university students, musicians (n = 30) and non-musicians (n = 30), completed three measures of prosodic sensitivity on the sentence level. In addition, word and nonword reading were tested. To check for possible reciprocal effects of prosodic sensitivity and reading, groups of musicians and non-musicians matched on the reading level as well as the prosodic sensitivity level were compared. The results showed that musicians outperformed non-musicians in two of the three prosodic sensitivity measures and both reading measures. Considering subgroup analysis this seems to indicate a non-reciprocal effect of prosodic sensitivity on reading. Moreover, when controlling for phonological awareness, prosodic sensitivity showed a unique effect on reading in the whole sample. Based on the results, we argue that good prosodic sensitivity can facilitate reading performance.

这项研究调查了韵律敏感性对阅读的影响。比较了能力强的成年音乐家（即具有潜在出色的韵律技巧的人）和非音乐家的韵律敏感性和阅读能力。此外，该研究还考察了韵律敏感性和阅读的可能相互影响。60名说德语的大学生，音乐家（n  = 30）和非音乐家（n = 30），在句子层面上完成了三个韵律敏感度的测量。此外，还测试了单词和非单词阅读。为了检查韵律敏感性和阅读的可能相互影响，比较了在阅读水平和韵律敏感性水平上匹配的音乐家和非音乐家群体。结果表明，在三种韵律敏感度指标中的两种以及两种阅读指标中，音乐家的表现均优于非音乐家。考虑亚组分析，这似乎表明韵律敏感性对阅读的非互惠影响。此外，在控制语音意识时，韵律敏感性对整个样本的阅读表现出独特的影响。根据结果​​，我们认为良好的韵律敏感性可以促进阅读性能。