Revisiting perceptual sensitivity to non-native speech in a diverse sample of bilinguals
Werker and Tees (1984) prompted decades of research attempting to detail the paths infants take towards specialisation for the sounds of their native language(s). Most of this research has examined the trajectories of monolingual children. However, it has also been proposed that bilinguals, who are exposed to greater phonetic variability than monolinguals and must learn the rules of two languages, may remain perceptually open to non-native language sounds later into life than monolinguals. Using a visual habituation paradigm, the current study tests this question by comparing 15- to 18-month-old monolingual and bilingual children’s developmental trajectories for non-native phonetic consonant contrast discrimination. A novel approach to the integration of stimulus presentation software with eye-tracking software was validated for objective measurement of infant looking time. The results did not support the hypothesis of a protracted period of sensitivity to non-native phonetic contrasts in bilingual compared to monolingual infants. Implications for diversification of perceptual narrowing research and implementation of increasingly sensitive measures are discussed.
Item Type | Article |
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Additional Information |
Funding: This work was supported in part by the the Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship awarded to M.M. [100229/Z/12/Z]. V.L.M was supported by a Research Excellence Scholarship (previously a Graduate Research Scholarship and an Overseas Research Scholarship) from University College London. |
Keywords | Bilingualism, Speech perception, Language acquisition, Perceptual narrowing, Visual habituation, Eye-tracking |
Departments, Centres and Research Units | Psychology |
Date Deposited | 05 Jun 2024 08:20 |
Last Modified | 05 Jun 2024 08:20 |