Statistical distributions of consonant variants in infant-directed speech: Evidence that /t/ may be exceptional

dc.contributor.authorDilley, Laura
dc.contributor.authorGamache, Jessica
dc.contributor.authorWang, Yuanyuan
dc.contributor.authorHouston, Derek M.
dc.contributor.authorBergeson, Tonya R.
dc.contributor.departmentOtolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicineen_US
dc.date.accessioned2021-05-11T16:39:01Z
dc.date.available2021-05-11T16:39:01Z
dc.date.issued2019-05-24
dc.description.abstractStatistical distributions of phonetic variants in spoken language influence speech perception for both language learners and mature users. We theorized that patterns of phonetic variant processing of consonants demonstrated by adults might stem in part from patterns of early exposure to statistics of phonetic variants in infant-directed (ID) speech. In particular, we hypothesized that ID speech might involve greater proportions of canonical /t/ pronunciations compared to adult-directed (AD) speech in at least some phonological contexts. This possibility was tested using a corpus of spontaneous speech of mothers speaking to other adults, or to their typically-developing infant. Tokens of word-final alveolar stops – including /t/, /d/, and the nasal stop /n/ – were examined in assimilable contexts (i.e., those followed by a word-initial labial and/or velar); these were classified as canonical, assimilated, deleted, or glottalized. Results confirmed that there were significantly more canonical pronunciations in assimilable contexts in ID compared with AD speech, an effect which was driven by the phoneme /t/. These findings suggest that at least in phonological contexts involving possible assimilation, children are exposed to more canonical /t/ variant pronunciations than adults are. This raises the possibility that perceptual processing of canonical /t/ may be partly attributable to exposure to canonical /t/ variants in ID speech. Results support the need for further research into how statistics of variant pronunciations in early language input may shape speech processing across the lifespan.en_US
dc.eprint.versionAuthor's manuscripten_US
dc.identifier.citationDilley, L., Gamache, J., Wang, Y., Houston, D. M., & Bergeson, T. R. (2019). Statistical distributions of consonant variants in infant-directed speech: Evidence that /t/ may be exceptional. Journal of Phonetics, 75, 73–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2019.05.004en_US
dc.identifier.issn0095-4470en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1805/25918
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherElsevieren_US
dc.relation.isversionof10.1016/j.wocn.2019.05.004en_US
dc.relation.journalJournal of Phoneticsen_US
dc.sourcePMCen_US
dc.subjectinfant-directed speechen_US
dc.subjectphonetic variantsen_US
dc.subject/t/ varianten_US
dc.titleStatistical distributions of consonant variants in infant-directed speech: Evidence that /t/ may be exceptionalen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
nihms-1529805.pdf
Size:
463.8 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Author's manuscript
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.99 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: