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Internal structure of voicing categories in early infancy
1Department of Psychology, North-eastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA. jlmiller@neu.edu
Perception & Psychophysics
|November 1, 1996
Summary
Infants as young as 3-4 months perceive speech sounds in structured categories, similar to adults. This suggests early language-universal phonetic perception, shaped by native language exposure.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
- Auditory Perception
Background:
- Young infants process speech using perceptual categories mirroring adult phonetic categories.
- Previous research indicated structured vowel categories in 6-7-month-old infants.
- The internal structure of infant speech sound categories at earlier ages remained unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the internal perceptual structure of speech sound categories in younger infants (3-4 months old).
- To examine consonantal contrasts in infant speech perception.
- To discuss the implications for language-universal categories and the role of native language exposure.
Main Methods:
- Experimental investigation of infant speech perception focusing on a specific consonantal contrast.
- Utilized behavioral paradigms to assess perceptual categorization in 3-4-month-old infants.
- Compared infant category structures with established adult phonetic categories.
Main Results:
- Evidence of internally structured perceptual categories for consonantal contrasts was found in 3-4-month-old infants.
- These findings extend the evidence of structured phonetic perception to younger infants than previously shown.
- Infant category structures showed similarities to adult phonetic categories.
Conclusions:
- Infants possess structured phonetic perception from a very early age (3-4 months).
- These early categories may represent language-universal phonetic sensitivities.
- Exposure to the native language plays a crucial role in shaping these developing phonetic categories.