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Kalashnikova M, Singh L, Tsui A, Altuntas E, Burnham D, Cannistraci R, Chin NB, Feng Y, Fernández-Merino L, Götz A, Gustavsson L, Hay J, Höhle B, Kager R, Lai R, Liu L, Marklund E, Nazzi T, Oliveira DS, Olstad AMH, Picaud A, Schwarz IC, Tsao FM, Wong PCM, Woo PJ. The development of tone discrimination in infancy: Evidence from a cross-linguistic, multi-lab report. Dev Sci 2024; 27:e13459. [PMID: 37987377 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2019] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
We report the findings of a multi-language and multi-lab investigation of young infants' ability to discriminate lexical tones as a function of their native language, age and language experience, as well as of tone properties. Given the high prevalence of lexical tones across human languages, understanding lexical tone acquisition is fundamental for comprehensive theories of language learning. While there are some similarities between the developmental course of lexical tone perception and that of vowels and consonants, findings for lexical tones tend to vary greatly across different laboratories. To reconcile these differences and to assess the developmental trajectory of native and non-native perception of tone contrasts, this study employed a single experimental paradigm with the same two pairs of Cantonese tone contrasts (perceptually similar vs. distinct) across 13 laboratories in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North-America testing 5-, 10- and 17-month-old monolingual (tone, pitch-accent, non-tone) and bilingual (tone/non-tone, non-tone/non-tone) infants. Across the age range and language backgrounds, infants who were not exposed to Cantonese showed robust discrimination of the two non-native lexical tone contrasts. Contrary to this overall finding, the statistical model assessing native discrimination by Cantonese-learning infants failed to yield significant effects. These findings indicate that lexical tone sensitivity is maintained from 5 to 17 months in infants acquiring tone and non-tone languages, challenging the generalisability of the existing theoretical accounts of perceptual narrowing in the first months of life. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This is a multi-language and multi-lab investigation of young infants' ability to discriminate lexical tones. This study included data from 13 laboratories testing 5-, 10-, and 17-month-old monolingual (tone, pitch-accent, non-tone) and bilingual (tone/non-tone, non-tone/non-tone) infants. Overall, infants discriminated a perceptually similar and a distinct non-native tone contrast, although there was no evidence of a native tone-language advantage in discrimination. These results demonstrate maintenance of tone discrimination throughout development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Kalashnikova
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, San Sebastian, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Leher Singh
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | | | - Eylem Altuntas
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | - Denis Burnham
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | - Ryan Cannistraci
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
- Department of Psychology, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ng Bee Chin
- Linguistics and Multilingual Studies, School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Ye Feng
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Department of Linguistics, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China
| | - Laura Fernández-Merino
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, San Sebastian, Spain
- University of Basque Country, San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Antonia Götz
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
- Linguistics Department, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Lisa Gustavsson
- Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jessica Hay
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Barbara Höhle
- Linguistics Department, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - René Kager
- Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Institute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Regine Lai
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Liquan Liu
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
- School of Psychology, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
- Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian Research Council, Canberra, Australia
- Center of Multilingualism across the Lifespan, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ellen Marklund
- Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Thierry Nazzi
- INCC, CNRS Paris, Paris, France
- Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | | | | | - Anthony Picaud
- INCC, CNRS Paris, Paris, France
- Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Iris-Corinna Schwarz
- Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Special Education, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Feng-Ming Tsao
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Imaging Center for Integrated Body, Mind and Culture Research, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Patrick C M Wong
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Pei Jun Woo
- Department of Psychology, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia
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Singh L, Rajendra SJ, Mazuka R. Diversity and representation in studies of infant perceptual narrowing. CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Reiko Mazuka
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science Saitama Japan
- Duke University Durham North Carolina USA
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Liu L, Götz A, Lorette P, Tyler MD. How Tone, Intonation and Emotion Shape the Development of Infants’ Fundamental Frequency Perception. Front Psychol 2022; 13:906848. [PMID: 35719494 PMCID: PMC9204181 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.906848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Fundamental frequency (ƒ0), perceived as pitch, is the first and arguably most salient auditory component humans are exposed to since the beginning of life. It carries multiple linguistic (e.g., word meaning) and paralinguistic (e.g., speakers’ emotion) functions in speech and communication. The mappings between these functions and ƒ0 features vary within a language and differ cross-linguistically. For instance, a rising pitch can be perceived as a question in English but a lexical tone in Mandarin. Such variations mean that infants must learn the specific mappings based on their respective linguistic and social environments. To date, canonical theoretical frameworks and most empirical studies do not view or consider the multi-functionality of ƒ0, but typically focus on individual functions. More importantly, despite the eventual mastery of ƒ0 in communication, it is unclear how infants learn to decompose and recognize these overlapping functions carried by ƒ0. In this paper, we review the symbioses and synergies of the lexical, intonational, and emotional functions that can be carried by ƒ0 and are being acquired throughout infancy. On the basis of our review, we put forward the Learnability Hypothesis that infants decompose and acquire multiple ƒ0 functions through native/environmental experiences. Under this hypothesis, we propose representative cases such as the synergy scenario, where infants use visual cues to disambiguate and decompose the different ƒ0 functions. Further, viable ways to test the scenarios derived from this hypothesis are suggested across auditory and visual modalities. Discovering how infants learn to master the diverse functions carried by ƒ0 can increase our understanding of linguistic systems, auditory processing and communication functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liquan Liu
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Center for Multilingualism in Society Across the Lifespan, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- *Correspondence: Liquan Liu,
| | - Antonia Götz
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Pernelle Lorette
- Department of English Linguistics, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Michael D. Tyler
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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Liu L, Lai R, Singh L, Kalashnikova M, Wong PCM, Kasisopa B, Chen A, Onsuwan C, Burnham D. The tone atlas of perceptual discriminability and perceptual distance: Four tone languages and five language groups. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2022; 229:105106. [PMID: 35390675 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Some prior investigations suggest that tone perception is flexible, reasonably independent of native phonology, whereas others suggest it is constrained by native phonology. We address this issue in a systematic and comprehensive investigation of adult tone perception. Sampling from diverse tone and non-tone speaking communities, we tested discrimination of the three major tone systems (Cantonese, Thai, Mandarin) that dominate the tone perception literature, in relation to native language and language experience as well as stimulus variation (tone properties, presentation order, pitch cues) using linear mixed effect modelling and multidimensional scaling. There was an overall discrimination advantage for tone language speakers and for native tones. However, language- and tone-specific effects, and presentation order effects also emerged. Thus, over and above native phonology, stimulus variation exerts a powerful influence on tone discrimination. This study provides a tone atlas, a reference guide to inform empirical studies of tone sensitivity, both retrospectively and prospectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liquan Liu
- School of Psychology, Western Sydney University, Australia; The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Australia; Center for Multilingualism in Society Across the Lifespan, University of Oslo, Norway; Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian Research Council, Australia.
| | - Regine Lai
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Leher Singh
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Marina Kalashnikova
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Australia; Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Spain; Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Spain
| | - Patrick C M Wong
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Benjawan Kasisopa
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Australia
| | - Ao Chen
- School of Communication Sciences, Beijing Language and Culture University, China
| | - Chutamanee Onsuwan
- Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Center of Excellence in Intelligent Informatics, Speech and Language Technology, and Service Innovation (CILS), Thammasat University, Thailand
| | - Denis Burnham
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Australia.
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Chen H, LabertoniÈre D, Cheung H, Nazzi T. Infant learning of words in a typologically distant nonnative language. JOURNAL OF CHILD LANGUAGE 2020; 47:1276-1287. [PMID: 32370813 DOI: 10.1017/s0305000920000161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Infants attune to their native language during the first two years of life, as attested by decreases in the processing of nonnative phonological sounds and reductions in the range of possible sounds accepted as labels for native words. The present study shows that French-learning infants aged 1;8 can learn new words in an unfamiliar language, Cantonese, after just 6 repetitions of each word. This shows that word learning in a nonnative language remains possible during the second year of life even in a nonnative language that is typologically distinct from the native language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Chen
- CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France
- Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
| | - Dahliane LabertoniÈre
- CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France
- Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
| | | | - Thierry Nazzi
- CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France
- Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
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Mugitani R, Kobayashi T, Hayashi A, Fais L. The Use of Pitch Accent in Word-Object Association by Monolingual Japanese Infants. INFANCY 2019; 24:318-337. [PMID: 32677192 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2017] [Revised: 10/26/2018] [Accepted: 12/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated the lexical use of Japanese pitch accent in Japanese-learning infants. A word-object association task revealed that 18-month-old infants succeeded in learning the associations between two nonsense objects paired with two nonsense words minimally distinguished by pitch pattern (Experiment 1). In contrast, 14-month-old infants failed (Experiment 2). Eighteen-month-old infants succeeded even for sounds that contained only the prosodic information (Experiment 3). However, a subsequent experiment revealed that 14-month-old infants succeeded in an easier single word-object task using pitch contrast (Experiment 4). These findings indicate that pitch pattern information is robustly available to 18-month-old Japanese monolingual infants in a minimal pair word-learning situation, but only partially accessible in the same context for 14-month-old infants.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Akiko Hayashi
- Center for the Research and Support of Educational Practice, Tokyo Gakugei University
| | - Laurel Fais
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia
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Best CT. The Diversity of Tone Languages and the Roles of Pitch Variation in Non-tone Languages: Considerations for Tone Perception Research. Front Psychol 2019; 10:364. [PMID: 30863341 PMCID: PMC6399451 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2018] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Catherine T Best
- MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
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Kager R. How Do Infants Disaggregate Referential and Affective Pitch? Front Psychol 2018; 9:2093. [PMID: 30429817 PMCID: PMC6220085 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Infants are faced with a challenge of disaggregating functions of pitch in the ambient language into affective, pragmatic or referential (the latter in tone languages only). This mini review discusses several factors that might facilitate the disaggregation of referential and affective pitch in infancy: acoustic characteristics of infant-directed speech, recognition of vocal affect, facial cues accompanying affective prosody, and lateralization of affective and referential prosody in the brain. It proposes two hypotheses concerning the role of audiovisual cues and brain lateralization
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Affiliation(s)
- René Kager
- Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
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Liu L, Ong JH, Tuninetti A, Escudero P. One Way or Another: Evidence for Perceptual Asymmetry in Pre-attentive Learning of Non-native Contrasts. Front Psychol 2018; 9:162. [PMID: 29615941 PMCID: PMC5869940 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Research investigating listeners' neural sensitivity to speech sounds has largely focused on segmental features. We examined Australian English listeners' perception and learning of a supra-segmental feature, pitch direction in a non-native tonal contrast, using a passive oddball paradigm and electroencephalography. The stimuli were two contours generated from naturally produced high-level and high-falling tones in Mandarin Chinese, differing only in pitch direction (Liu and Kager, 2014). While both contours had similar pitch onsets, the pitch offset of the falling contour was lower than that of the level one. The contrast was presented in two orientations (standard and deviant reversed) and tested in two blocks with the order of block presentation counterbalanced. Mismatch negativity (MMN) responses showed that listeners discriminated the non-native tonal contrast only in the second block, reflecting indications of learning through exposure during the first block. In addition, listeners showed a later MMN peak for their second block of test relative to listeners who did the same block first, suggesting linguistic (as opposed to acoustic) processing or a misapplication of perceptual strategies from the first to the second block. The results also showed a perceptual asymmetry for change in pitch direction: listeners who encountered a falling tone deviant in the first block had larger frontal MMN amplitudes than listeners who encountered a level tone deviant in the first block. The implications of our findings for second language speech and the developmental trajectory for tone perception are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liquan Liu
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian Research Council, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Jia Hoong Ong
- Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian Research Council, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies, School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Alba Tuninetti
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian Research Council, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Paola Escudero
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian Research Council, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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