The Development of Language Constancy: Attention to Native Versus Nonnative Accents

• Autores: Christine Kitamura, Robin Panneton, Catherine T. Best
• Localización: Child development, ISSN 0009-3920, Vol. 84, Nº. 5, 2013, págs. 1686-1700
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The time frame for infants' acquisition of language constancy was probed, using the phonetic variation in a rarely heard accent (South African English) or a frequently heard accent (American English). A total of 156 Australian infants were tested. Six-month-olds looked longer to Australian English than less commonly heard South African accent, but at 9 months, showed similar looking times. With the more frequently heard American accent, 3-month-olds looked longer to Australian and American English, whereas 6-month-olds looked equally. Together these results imply that in the 1st year, differential attention to native versus nonnative accents decreases as infants develop a sense of language constancy for the common native language. However, experience with the nonnative accent can expedite this process.