Even at 4 months, a labial is a good enough coronal, but not vice versa
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Updated: Oct 24, 2026

Three-Dimensional Cephalometric Landmark Annotation Demonstration on Human Cone Beam Computed Tomography Scans
Published on: September 8, 2023
Sho Tsuji1, Reiko Mazuka2, Alejandrina Cristia3
1Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands; International Max-Planck Research School for Language Sciences, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Numerous studies have revealed an asymmetry tied to the perception of coronal place of articulation: participants accept a labial mispronunciation of a coronal target, but not vice versa. Whether or not this asymmetry is based on language-general properties or arises from language-specific experience has been a matter of debate. The current study suggests a bias of the first type by documenting an early, cross-linguistic asymmetry related to coronal place of articulation. Japanese and Dutch 4- and 6-month-old infants showed evidence of discrimination if they were habituated to a labial and then tested on a coronal sequence, but not vice versa. This finding has important implications for both phonological theories and infant speech perception research.
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