Speech sound learning across languages and talkers by adults and infants

为了理解语言是如何学习和使用的，我们必须了解语言表征：它们包含的信息，它们是如何形成的，以及我们如何适当地从它们中提取信息。我的研究计划侧重于我们如何成为有能力的语言使用者，并在这个更广泛的目标，目前的建议探讨语音表征的形成和内容。* *在英语中，“ng”（“sing”结尾的声音）从来不作为单词的开头。这种类型的现有规律性影响我们如何处理语音：当遵循现有规则时，声音序列更容易处理（例如，“fing”将成为一个合理的英语单词），而不是当违反了这些规则时（例如，“ngif”会成为一个可怜的词）。为了研究表征的形成和内容，我们让成人和婴儿接触新的序列，例如，把“f“限制在音节的开头然后，我们测试听众是否以不同的方式对待以“f”开头或结尾的音节。如果他们这样做了，这表明他们了解了新的信息。除了学习困难之外，语言在声音的排序方面也有所不同，更糟糕的是，同一语言的使用者（例如，英语）可能取决于例如他们的母语（例如，英语vs法语）。** 在这里，我们建议探索如何在学习一门新语言时克服母语经验。成人和儿童可以学习多种语言，但我们的第一语言（L1）会影响后来的语言（L2）学习。我们调查了一些新的语音定向模式（与L1不一致）可以学习的方式，询问是否某些类型的曝光更有助于获得新的模式。我们还询问是否有详细信息（例如，说话者口音）在学习时表现出来。当观看英国情景喜剧时，概括我们对加拿大英语发音模式的了解（例如，在单词的开头没有“ng”）可能是有益的，但是有时划分我们的知识可能更有用，例如，当说法语的L1人说“heat”时，她可能指的是温度或食物（“eat”），因此跟踪声音模式（例如，涉及H）相对于说话者的背景，可能会提高理解。最后，跨年龄比较（成人，婴儿）有助于澄清经验的作用。** 我们的研究探讨了语音获取和处理中的新问题;增加了人类学习和记忆，语音感知和语言习得的基本知识。

To understand how language is learned and used we must know about language representations: the information they contain, how they are formed, and how we appropriately extract information from them. My research program focuses on how we become competent language users; and within this broader aim, the current proposal explores the formation and content of speech sound representations. ******We have been examining knowledge of speech sound ordering. In English, "ng" (sound at the end of "sing") never starts words. This type of existing regularity affects how we process speech: sound sequences are more easily processed when the existing regularities are followed (e.g., "fing" would make a reasonable English word), than when the regularities are violated (e.g., "ngif" would make a poor word). To study the formation and content of representations we expose adults and infants to novel sequence regularities, e.g., restricting "f"s to the starts of syllables. We then test whether listeners treat syllables that start or end with "f" differently. If they do, it suggests that they learned about the new regularities. Adding to difficulty for learning, languages differ in how sounds can be ordered, and worse, speakers of the same language (e.g., English) may differ in their specific pronunciation of sounds depending on, for example, their native language (e.g., English vs French). ******Here, we propose to explore how native-language experience can be overcome when learning a novel language. Adults and children can learn multiple languages, yet our first language (L1) affects later language (L2) learning. We investigate some ways in which novel phonotactic patterns (inconsistent with L1) can be learned; asking whether some types of exposure are more helpful for acquiring novel patterns. We also ask whether details (e.g., talker accent) are represented when learning. When watching a British sitcom, generalizing our knowledge of Canadian English sound patterns (e.g., no "ng" at the starts of words) may be beneficial, but sometimes compartmentalizing our knowledge may be more useful, e.g., when an L1-French speaker says "heat", she might mean temperature or food ("eat"), so tracking sound patterns (e.g., involving H) relative to the speaker's background, might improve comprehension. Finally, cross-age comparison (adults, infants) helps clarify the role of experience. ******Our research explores novel questions in the acquisition and processing of speech sounds; adding to basic knowledge of human learning and memory, speech perception, and language acquisition.