ERIC Number: EJ1025342
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Development of Phonological Constancy: 19-Month-Olds, but Not 15-Month-Olds, Identify Words in a Non-Native Regional Accent
Mulak, Karen E.; Best, Catherine T.; Tyler, Michael D.; Kitamura, Christine; Irwin, Julia R.
Child Development, v84 n6 p2064-2078 Nov-Dec 2013
By 12 months, children grasp that a phonetic change to a word can change its identity ("phonological distinctiveness"). However, they must also grasp that some phonetic changes do "not" ("phonological constancy"). To test development of phonological constancy, sixteen 15-month-olds and sixteen 19-month-olds completed an eye-tracking task that tracked their gaze to named versus unnamed images for familiar words spoken in their native (Australian) and an unfamiliar non-native (Jamaican) regional accent of English. Both groups looked longer at named than unnamed images for Australian pronunciations, but only 19-month-olds did so for Jamaican pronunciations, indicating that phonological constancy emerges by 19 months. Vocabulary size predicted 15-month-olds' identifications for the Jamaican pronunciations, suggesting vocabulary growth is a viable predictor for phonological constancy development.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Toddlers, Phonology, Age Differences, Child Development, Eye Movements, Dialects, Pronunciation, Vocabulary
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

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