Work

From Flexibility to Constraint: The Contrastive Use of Lexical Tone in Early Word Learning

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Infants must develop both flexibility and constraint in their interpretation of acceptable word forms. The current experiments examined the development of infants' lexical interpretation of non-native variations in pitch contour. Fourteen-, 17-, and 19-month-olds (Experiments 1 and 2, N = 72) heard labels for two novel objects; labels contained the same syllable produced with distinct pitch contours (Mandarin lexical tones). The youngest infants learned the label-object mappings, but the older groups did not, despite being able to discriminate pitch differences in an object-free task (Experiment 3, N = 14). Results indicate that 14-month-olds remain flexible regarding what sounds make meaningful distinctions between words. By 17-19 months, experience with a nontonal native language constrains infants' interpretation of lexical tone.

Source: Child Development

DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12269

Authors: Jessica F Hay, Katharine Graf Estes, Tianlin Wang, Jenny R Saffran

Institutions: University of Tennessee at Knoxville, University of California, Davis, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Language: English

Topic: Language Development and Disorders

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development