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A limit on behavioral plasticity in speech perception

C Pallier1, L Bosch, N Sebastián-Gallés

  • 1Departament de Psicologia Bàsica, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. pallier@lscp.ehess.fr

Cognition
|January 14, 1998
PubMed
Summary
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Native language filters speech perception, even with extensive second language exposure. This study shows Spanish-Catalan bilinguals lack the behavioral plasticity to master new speech sound contrasts, highlighting limits in phonological learning.

Area of Science:

  • Psycholinguistics
  • Neuroscience
  • Second Language Acquisition

Background:

  • Native language shapes speech perception, making non-native sounds difficult to distinguish.
  • Laboratory studies demonstrate that training can improve non-native speech sound perception.
  • Neurophysiological evidence indicates significant experience-dependent plasticity in sensory processing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate behavioral plasticity in second language phonological acquisition outside laboratory settings.
  • To determine if extensive early exposure to a second language leads to native-like phonological competence.

Main Methods:

  • Study involved Spanish-Catalan bilingual subjects with prolonged exposure to both languages.
  • Assessed the ability of bilinguals to discriminate between speech sounds not present in their native language.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Spanish-Catalan bilinguals demonstrated a striking lack of behavioral plasticity in phonological perception.
  • Early and extensive exposure to a second language was insufficient for achieving native-like phonological competence.

Conclusions:

  • Behavioral plasticity for phonological contrasts is limited, even with optimal learning opportunities.
  • Real-world second language acquisition may not fully overcome native language filtering of speech sounds.