Discrimination of Phonemic Vowel Length by Japanese Infants
Discrimination of Phonemic Vowel Length by Japanese Infants
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DOI：
10.1037/a0016718
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发表时间：
2010-01-01
影响因子：
4
通讯作者：
Mazuka, Reiko
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Sato, Yutaka;Sogabe, Yuko;Mazuka, Reiko
日语的元音音长对比是其语言特有的音位库的一个组成部分，用于区分词义。然而，在语言环境中，对元音音长的敏感性是如何发展的，这一点还不清楚。在本研究中，使用视觉习惯化disabituation方法，作者评估了婴儿的能力，区分长元音和短元音嵌入在双音节词（/mana/ vs. /ma：na/）。结果显示，4个月大的日本婴儿（n = 32）未能区分对比（p = 0.676），而9.5个月大的婴儿（n = 33）表现出区分能力（p = 0.014）。7.5个月大的婴儿没有表现出积极的证据来区分对比，无论是当使用编辑的刺激（n = 33; p = 0.275）或当使用自然发出的刺激（n = 33; p = 0.189）。相比之下，4个月大的婴儿（n = 24）表现出对元音质量变化的敏感性（/mana/ vs. /mina/; p = 0.034）。这些结果表明，日本婴儿获得敏感性的长短元音对比之间的7.5和9.5个月的年龄和音位类别的发展过程中的持续时间的变化是不同的质量的变化。
Japanese has a vowel duration contrast as one component of its language-specific phonemic repertory to distinguish word meanings. It is not clear, however, how a sensitivity to vowel duration can develop in a linguistic context. In the present study, using the visual habituation-dishabituation method, the authors evaluated infants' abilities to discriminate Japanese long and short vowels embedded in two-syllable words (/mana/ vs. /ma:na/). The results revealed that 4-month-old Japanese infants (n = 32) failed to discriminate the contrast (p = .676), whereas 9.5-month-olds (n = 33) showed the discrimination ability (p = .014). The 7.5-month-olds did not show positive evidence to discriminate the contrast either when the edited stimuli were used (n = 33; p = .275) or when naturally uttered stimuli were used (n = 33; p = .189). By contrast, the 4-month-olds (n = 24) showed sensitivity to a vowel quality change (/mana/ vs. /mina/; p = .034). These results indicate that Japanese infants acquire sensitivity to long-short vowel contrasts between 7.5 and 9.5 months of age and that the developmental course of the phonemic category by the durational changes is different from that by the quality change.