Word-minimality epenthesis and coda licensing in the early acquisition of English
Word-minimality epenthesis and coda licensing in the early acquisition of English
复制标题
DOI：
10.1177/00238309060490020201
复制
发表时间：
2006-01-01
影响因子：
1.8
通讯作者：
Alter, Jennifer
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Demuth, Katherine;Culbertson, Jennifer;Alter, Jennifer
许多语言对韵律词有一定的限制，其中词汇项必须至少由两个结构结构组成，或者是一个二元结构。Demuth和Fee（1995）提出，儿童对单词最小化效应表现出早期敏感性，如果不能产生尾辅音，儿童会表现出一段时间的元音延长或元音放大。本文通过对四名1 - 2岁英语儿童的自发言语中词尾尾辅音的发展进行了研究。虽然没有元音延长的证据，但尾辅音在带有单音节元音的单音节目标单词中更准确地产生，这表明在早期使用尾辅音时，它们可以作为双音节脚的一部分被韵律化。其中一名儿童在产生尾音的同时还广泛使用元音扩音和尾辅音吸音。然而，我们表明，这是由于产生复杂音节结构的发音挑战，而不是试图产生结构良好的最小单词。这些结果表明，英语学习者可能在音节水平上表现出对韵律结构的早期意识，但关于单词最小化的语言特定限制可能比最初认为的要晚。
Many languages exhibit constraints on prosodic words, where lexical items must be composed of at least two moras of structure, or a binary foot. Demuth and Fee (1995) proposed that children demonstrate early sensitivity to word-minimality effects, exhibiting a period of vowel lengthening or vowel epenthesis if coda consonants cannot be produced. This paper evaluates this proposal by examining the development of word-final coda consonants in the spontaneous speech of four English-speaking children between the ages of one and two. Although there was no evidence of vowel lengthening, coda consonants were more accurately produced in monosyllabic target words with monomoriac vowels, suggesting earlier use of coda consonants in contexts where they can be prosodified as part of a bimoraic foot. One child also showed extensive use of vowel epenthesis and coda consonant aspiration concurrent with the production of codas. However, we show that this was due to the articulatory challenges of producing complex syllable structures rather than an attempt to produce well-formed minimal words. These results suggest that learners of English may exhibit an early awareness of moraic structure at the level of the syllable, but that language-specific constraints regarding word-minimality may be acquired later than originally thought.