Learning natural and unnatural phonological stress by 9- and 10-year-olds: A preliminary report
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Research into adult learning of natural and unnatural pairs of artificial languages have demonstrated that it is easier to learn a phonological rule that is based on naturalness in language than a similar, but unnatural, version of the same rule (Wilson 2006, Carpenter 2010). Infants' learning of natural and unnatural phonology has produced mixed results (Gerken and Boltt, 2008; Seidl and Buckley, 2005). The present study focuses on older children's learning of a natural and unnatural version of a stress rule based on vowel height. The results show that 9- and 10-year-olds exhibit a bias towards the natural rule. I suggest that the bias develops from an interaction between general cognition and a language-specific one.
Author: Carpenter, Angela C.
Institution: Wellesley College
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2515642943