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ERIC Number: EJ1184491
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jul
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-0009
EISSN: N/A
Locals Don't Have Accents: Children Weigh Phonological Profciency over Syntactic or Semantic Profciency When Categorizing Individuals
Hwang, Hyesung G.; Markson, Lori
Journal of Child Language, v45 n4 p1018-1034 Jul 2018
Children categorize native-accented speakers as local and non-native-accented speakers as foreign, suggesting they use accent (i.e., phonological proficiency) to determine social group membership. However, it is unclear if accent is the strongest--AND ONLY--group marker children use to determine social group membership, or whether other aspects of language, such as syntax and semantics, are also important markers. To test this, five- to eight-year-old monolingual English-speaking children were asked to judge whether individuals who varied in phonological, syntactic, and semantic proficiency were local or foreign. Children were also asked which individual they wanted as a friend. Children prioritized phonological proficiency over syntactic and semantic proficiency to determine social group membership. However, with age, children begin to shift toward prioritizing syntactic and semantic proficiency over phonological proficiency in their friendship decisions, suggesting that the capacity to integrate different aspects of a speaker's linguistic proficiency changes with development.
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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
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A