Open Collections

UBC Faculty Research and Publications

When does native language input affect phonetic perception? The precocious case of lexical tone Yeung, Ho Henny; Chen, Ke Heng; Werker, Janet Feldman, 1951-

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that the perception of vowels and consonants changes from language-universal to language-specific between 6 and 12 months of age. This report suggests that language-specific perception emerges even earlier for lexical tones. Experiment 1 tested English-learners’ perception of Cantonese tones, replicating declines in tone discrimination from 4 to 9 months of age. Experiment 2 tested infants learning non-native versus native tone systems (Mandarin-learners versus Cantonese-learners). All Chinese-learners discriminated the tones, but showed language-specific differences in tone preferences at both ages. Indeed, English-, Mandarin-, and Cantonese-learning 4-month-olds all exhibited distinct preferences. With other work, this shows that language-specific speech perception emerges over a more complex and extended schedule than previously thought: first for lexical stress and tone (<5 months), then vowels (6-8 months), consonants (8.5-12 months), and finally phoneme duration (18 months). Acoustic salience likely plays an important role in determining the timing of phonetic development.

Item Metadata

Title
When does native language input affect phonetic perception? The precocious case of lexical tone
Creator
Yeung, Ho Henny; Chen, Ke Heng; Werker, Janet Feldman, 1951-
Publisher
Elsevier
Date Issued
2013-02
Description
Previous studies have suggested that the perception of vowels and consonants changes from language-universal to language-specific between 6 and 12 months of age. This report suggests that language-specific perception emerges even earlier for lexical tones. Experiment 1 tested English-learners’ perception of Cantonese tones, replicating declines in tone discrimination from 4 to 9 months of age. Experiment 2 tested infants learning non-native versus native tone systems (Mandarin-learners versus Cantonese-learners). All Chinese-learners discriminated the tones, but showed language-specific differences in tone preferences at both ages. Indeed, English-, Mandarin-, and Cantonese-learning 4-month-olds all exhibited distinct preferences. With other work, this shows that language-specific speech perception emerges over a more complex and extended schedule than previously thought: first for lexical stress and tone (<5 months), then vowels (6-8 months), consonants (8.5-12 months), and finally phoneme duration (18 months). Acoustic salience likely plays an important role in determining the timing of phonetic development.
Subject
Tone; Infancy; Speech perception; English; Chinese; Cantonese; Mandarin
Genre
Article; Postprint
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2019-12-24
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0387329
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/72996
Affiliation
Arts, Faculty of; Psychology, Department of
Citation
Yeung, H.H., Chen, K.H., & Werker, J.F. (2013). When does native language input affect phonetic perception? The precocious case of lexical tone. Journal of Memory and Language, 68(2), 123-139.
Publisher DOI
10.1016/j.jml.2012.09.004
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

Item Media

Item Citations and Data

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International