Developmental patterns in vowel perception

本研究计划探讨语音知觉的发展及其随年龄和语言经验的变化，以支持语言处理。本研究的重点是婴儿早期元音感知的发展，并将评估自然指涉元音模型（NRV）的优点。根据该模型，具有极端发音声学特性的元音（在元音空间中处于边缘位置）充当自然的指涉物；它们通过吸引婴儿的注意力和为学习者建立一个稳定的默认感知框架来支持和指导元音感知的发展。先前关于婴儿对不同元音的听力偏好的研究支持了这一观点，表明婴儿（4至12个月大）对周边元音有强烈的感知偏见。研究1和2将在更大的年龄范围内研究婴儿的元音偏好。我们将对年幼和年长的婴儿进行测试，以了解这种元音感知偏差是如何以及何时出现的，以及在学习不同语言的婴儿中，它是如何随着年龄的增长而变化的。研究3和4将评估外周元音支持元音感知发展的说法。研究3通过检查婴儿对婴儿说话者发出的元音的听力偏好（使用一种新的元音合成工具），测试了婴儿元音感知偏差也影响他们如何感知自己的声音模式的预测。研究4将评估婴儿识别不同说话者（成人、儿童、婴儿）发出的相同元音的能力，以测试婴儿在回应外围元音时比在回应非外围元音时更容易识别元音类别的预测。研究3和4也将对我们理解婴儿语言感知做出独特的贡献，通过提供婴儿如何对听起来像婴儿说话者的语言做出反应的第一个见解。以前的婴儿言语感知研究没有使用类似婴儿的言语材料；这种方法对于理解婴儿语言发展过程中听和说技能之间的相互作用是必要的。

This research program explores the development of phonetic perception and how it changes with age and language experience to support language processing.  The proposed research focuses on the development of vowel perception in early infancy and will evaluate the merits of the Natural Referent Vowel Model (NRV).   According to this model, vowels with extreme articulatory-acoustic properties (peripheral in the vowel space) act as natural referents; they support and guide the development of vowel perception by attracting infant attention and establishing a stable default perceptual framework for the learner. Previous studies of infant listening preferences for different vowels support this view by showing that infants (4 to 12 months of age) have a strong a perceptual bias favoring peripheral vowels.  Studies 1 and 2 will examine infant vowel preferences over a wider age range.  We will test younger and older infants to understand how and when this vowel perceptual bias emerges and how it changes with age in infants acquiring different languages.  Studies 3 and 4 will assess the claim that peripheral vowels support the development of vowel perception.  Study 3 tests the prediction that infant vowel perception biases also impact how they perceive their own vocal patterns by examining infant listening preferences for vowels produced by an infant talker (using a new tool for vowel synthesis). Study 4 will assess infant ability to recognize the same vowel when produced by different talkers (adult, child, infant) to test the prediction that vowel category recognition is easier for infants when they are responding to a peripheral vowel compared to non-peripheral vowel.  Studies 3 and 4 and will also make a unique contribution to our understanding of infant speech perception by providing the first insights into how infants respond to speech that sound like an infant talker. No previous studies of infant speech perception have used infant-like speech materials; this approach is needed to understand the interaction between listening and speaking skills in infant speech development.