ERIC Number: EJ1236763
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Nov
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
Toddlers Process Common and Infrequent Childhood Mispronunciations Differently for Child and Adult Speakers
Bernier, Dana E.; White, Katherine S.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v62 n11 p4137-4149 Nov 2019
Purpose: This study examined toddlers' processing of mispronunciations based on their frequency of occurrence in child speech and the speaker who produced them. Method: One hundred twenty 22-month-olds were assigned to 1 of 4 conditions. Using the intermodal preferential looking paradigm, toddlers were shown visual displays containing 1 familiar object and 1 novel object, labeled by either a child or an adult. Familiar objects were labeled correctly or with a small mispronunciation that is either common in child speech (e.g., "waisin" for raisin) or infrequent (e.g., "rauter" for water). Results: A significant interaction of speaker and type of mispronunciation showed that, for the child speaker, toddlers treated common and infrequent mispronunciations similarly, with equivalently sized mispronunciation penalties relative to correctly pronounced labels. In contrast, for the adult speaker, toddlers showed a large penalty for common mispronunciations, but infrequent mispronunciations were treated equivalently to correct pronunciations. Conclusion: These results both reinforce and extend previous work on toddlers' processing of mispronunciations by revealing a complex interplay of speaker, type of mispronunciation, and specific contrast in toddlers' perceptions of mispronunciations.
Descriptors: Toddlers, Pronunciation, Children, Adults, Speech Communication, Visual Stimuli, Familiarity, Novelty (Stimulus Dimension), Interaction
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A