Experiential effects in speech perception: Do they arise from a level playing field?

Abstract

Much evidence has accrued indicating that language experience from infancy shapes our categorization and discrimination of consonants and vowels, differentiating perception of native versus non-native speech contrasts. The Perceptual Assimilation (PAM: Best), Speech Learning (SLM: Flege), Native Language Magnet (NLM: Kuhl) and Second Language Linguistic Perception (L2LP: Escudero) models each offer theoretical accounts of this attunement but do not explicitly consider whether it begins with perceptual equivalence across all speech contrasts. Other findings suggest the initial perceptual playing field Is not level -- some contrasts are intrinsically easier than others to discriminate. This paper considers two theoretical accounts of this uneven initial state, the Natural Referent Vowel framework (NRV: Polka and Bohn) and the Articulatory Organ Hypothesis (AOH: Goldstein), in light of additional findings of discrimination biases. We will discuss how initial biases may interact with language experience to modulate perceptual attunment to the native language.Much evidence has accrued indicating that language experience from infancy shapes our categorization and discrimination of consonants and vowels, differentiating perception of native versus non-native speech contrasts. The Perceptual Assimilation (PAM: Best), Speech Learning (SLM: Flege), Native Language Magnet (NLM: Kuhl) and Second Language Linguistic Perception (L2LP: Escudero) models each offer theoretical accounts of this attunement but do not explicitly consider whether it begins with perceptual equivalence across all speech contrasts. Other findings suggest the initial perceptual playing field Is not level -- some contrasts are intrinsically easier than others to discriminate. This paper considers two theoretical accounts of this uneven initial state, the Natural Referent Vowel framework (NRV: Polka and Bohn) and the Articulatory Organ Hypothesis (AOH: Goldstein), in light of additional findings of discrimination biases. We will discuss how initial biases may interact with language experience to mo...