Related Experiment Videos
Perceptual strategies in prelingual speech segmentation
J V Goodsitt1, J L Morgan, P K Kuhl
1University of Washington.
Journal of Child Language
|June 1, 1993
Summary
Infants utilize a clustering strategy to segment speech, grouping syllables with high transitional probabilities. This complements their existing bracketing strategy for language acquisition.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Infants segment continuous speech using prosodic cues (bracketing strategy).
- The role of statistical learning (clustering strategy) in infant speech segmentation is less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if infants employ a clustering strategy for speech segmentation.
- To determine if speech context structure influences infants' ability to use clustering.
Main Methods:
- Operant head-turning procedure used with 7- and 8-month-old infants.
- Discrimination of target syllables tested in isolation and within three different speech contexts (Invariant Order, Redundant, Variable Order).
- Experiment 1 used variable intonation; Experiment 2 used flat pitch contours.
Main Results:
- Infants in the Invariant Order context showed significant performance improvements in syllable discrimination.
- No performance gains were observed in the Redundant or Variable Order contexts.
- Performance was equivalent across all groups in initial testing.
Conclusions:
- Infants can deploy a clustering strategy, complementing the bracketing strategy, for speech segmentation.
- The structure of speech context significantly impacts the effectiveness of the clustering strategy.
- This research sheds light on early language acquisition mechanisms in infants.