ERIC Number: EJ1381992
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Jul
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1363-755X
EISSN: EISSN-1467-7687
Effects of Socio-Economic Status on Infant Native and Non-Native Phoneme Discrimination
Singh, Leher; Cheng, Qiqi; Yeung, Wei-Jun Jean
Developmental Science, v26 n4 e13351 Jul 2023
Infants undergo fundamental shifts in perception that are reported to be critical for language acquisition. In particular, infants' perception of native and non-native sounds begins to align with the properties of their native sound system. Thus far, empirical evidence for this transition--perceptual narrowing--has drawn from socio-economically and linguistically narrow populations from limited world regions. In this study, infants were sampled across diverse socio-economic strata and linguistic development in Singapore. One hundred and 16 infants were tested on their ability to discriminate both a native phonetic contrast (/ba/ versus /da/) and a non-native Hindi contrast (/ta/ versus /[voiceless retroflex plosive]). Infants ranged in age from 6 to 12 months. Associations between age and discrimination varied by contrast type. Results demonstrated that infants' native sensitivities were positively predicted by family SES, whereas non-native sensitivities were not. Maternal socio-economic factors uniquely predicted native language sensitivity. Findings suggest that infants' sensitivity to native sound contrasts is influenced by their family socio-economic status.
Descriptors: Socioeconomic Status, Infants, Native Language, Auditory Discrimination, Phonetics, Indo European Languages, Foreign Countries, Age Differences, Predictor Variables
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Singapore
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A

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