Work

Non-Māori-speaking New Zealanders have a Māori proto-lexicon

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: We investigate implicit vocabulary learning by adults who are exposed to a language in their ambient environment. Most New Zealanders do not speak Māori, yet are exposed to it throughout their lifetime. We show that this exposure leads to a large proto-lexicon - implicit knowledge of the existence of words and sub-word units without any associated meaning. Despite not explicitly knowing many Māori words, non-Māori-speaking New Zealanders are able to access this proto-lexicon to distinguish Māori words from Māori-like nonwords. What's more, they are able to generalize over the proto-lexicon to generate sophisticated phonotactic knowledge, which lets them evaluate the well-formedness of Māori-like nonwords just as well as fluent Māori speakers.

Source: Scientific Reports

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78810-4

Authors: Y. Oh, S. Todd, C. Beckner, J. Hay, J. King, J. Needle

Institutions: University of Canterbury, Ajou University, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Warwick

Language: English

Topic: Phonetics and Phonology Research

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,870

Funders: Northwestern University, Marsden Fund