Prelinguistic Development: Perception

Question 1

General Issues

Answer 1

Perception vs. Production
Hypotheses (Maturation vs. Learning
Methods

Question 2

Controversial Issues

Answer 2

Role of Experience (vs. Maturation)
Methods
Uniqueness to Humans
Phonological Deafness

Question 3

Hypotheses for Prelinguistic Development

Answer 3

A. Infants are born with limited perceptual ability

B. Infants are born with ability to perceive most and possibly all speech sounds.

Question 4

Methods

Answer 4

Sucking rate (below 0;6)
Heart rate (below 0;6)
Head turn (0;6 and up)

Question 5

The Habituation Paradigm

Answer 5

Basic property of the CNS
New stimuli leads to dishabituation
Repetition leads to habituation
New stimuli leads to dishabituation (if heard)

Question 6

Eimas et al (1971)

Answer 6

Infants: 26 @ 0;1 & 26 @ 0;4
Stimuli: [pa] vs. [ba]
Method: sucking rate
Results: Difference perceived at 0;1 and 0;4
Conclusion: Infants can make fine phonetic discriminations (universal theory)

Question 7

Eilers et al (1979)

Answer 7

Infants: 8 Spanish & 8 English 0;6-0;8
Stimuli: [pa] vs [ba] English vs. Spanish
Method: Head turn
Results: % of Correct Responses
English Infants: 92% English 42% Spanish
Spanish Infants: 86% English 80% Spanish
Conclusion: Some sounds made may be harder to perceive than others. (i.e. infants may not be capable at birth at perceiving all speech sounds)

Question 8

Werker & Tees (1984)

Answer 8

Infants: English 0;6- 1;0
Stimuli: Hindi dental vs. Retroflex stops (Salish: [k’] vs. [q’]
Method: head turning
Results: % of Correct Responses
0;6-0;8 –> 95% Hindi, 80% Salish
0;8-0;10–> 68% Hindi, 52% Salish
0;10-0;12 –> 20% Hindi, 10% Salish
Conclusions: 1. Support the Universal Theory
2. Ability lost around 10 months for non-native sounds.

Question 9

Juszyk 1997 (Summary)

Answer 9

Infants perceive wide range of speech (vowels & consonants)
perfer their mother's voice (birth)
Perfer their native language (brith)
Perfer their own names (0;4)
Perfer frequent phonotactics (0;9)

Question 10

Perceptual Assimilation Model (Best)

Answer 10

We assimilate non-native sounds to those similar to the native language.

1) Japanese speakers with English /r/,/l/
2) English Speakers with Zulu clicks

Question 11

Phonological Deafness (Doupoux & Peperkamp)

Answer 11

Infants form prelexical representations around 1 yr.

Use them to perceive all speech

Question 12

Why are infants so good?

Answer 12

1. Aids phonological acquisition

2. Word segmentation (majority of words are never heard in isolation)

Question 13

Summary of prelinguistic development (Perception)

Answer 13

Excellent perceptual abilities from birth
Ability lost around 1 yr.
Necessary for subsequent word acquisition
Phonological deafness