Does hearing two dialects at different times help infants learn dialect-specific rules?

Abstract

Infants might be better at teasing apart dialects with different language rules when hearing the dialects at different times, since language learners do not always combine input heard at different times. However, no previous research has independently varied the temporal distribution of conflicting language input. Twelve-month-olds heard two artificial language streams representing different dialects—a “pure stream” whose sentences adhered to abstract grammar rules like aX bY, and a “mixed stream” wherein any a- or b-word could precede any X- or Y-word. Infants were then tested for generalization of the pure stream’s rules to novel sentences. Supporting our hypothesis, infants showed generalization when the two streams’ sentences alternated in minutes-long intervals without any perceptually salient change across streams (Experiment 2), but not when all sentences from these same streams were randomly interleaved (Experiment 3). Results are interpreted in light of temporal context effects in word learning.

Language learning from inconsistent input: Bilingual and monolingual toddlers compared

“…Second, regarding the experiment containing inconsistent input, following the structural sensitivity hypothesis (Kuo & Anderson, ; Kuo & Kim, ), we hypothesized that the bilingual group would be better able to learn the predominant pattern than the monolingual group, as the bilingual children were expected to focus on the predominant pattern and suppress interference from the non‐predominant pattern more than monolingual children. However, given the earlier work showing that monolingual infants can track structural relationships despite a certain degree of inconsistency in the input (Gómez & Lakusta, ; Gonzáles et al ), we did not make a strong prediction regarding the monolingual children, as they might also be able to learn the predominant pattern despite the presence of (relatively few) inconsistent items. The only outcome we did not anticipate was that only the monolingual group, and not the bilingual group, would be able to learn the dominant pattern in the inconsistent input experiment.…”

“…Specifically, Gómez and Lakusta () found that monolingual 12‐month‐olds could generalize aX bY rules when 17% of the input supported opposite rules (aY bX), but not when 33% did. Similarly, Gonzáles, Gerken, and Gómez () found that monolingual 12‐month‐olds could generalize aX bY rules with 38% strings supporting the opposite rules, depending on the distribution of the two sets of rules during stimuli presentation. In both studies, however, the inconsistency was created by having opposing rules, one of which was more frequent than the other.…”

Statistical learning of multiple speech streams: A challenge for monolingual infants

“…Equally important, however, is the ability to detect a change in the underlying regularities and to separate the regularities stemming from different contexts. This problem is relevant for infants raised in monolingual environments, who may encounter changes in the regularities of speech across instances, speakers, accents, or dialects (Gonzales, Gerken, & Gómez, ). This problem is also relevant for infants growing up bilingual, who are exposed to two different languages, each with its own set of regularities, and who must learn their languages as distinct systems (Byers‐Heinlein, ).…”

Statistical learning of multiple speech streams: a challenge for monolingual infants

“…Equally important, however, is the ability to detect a change in the underlying regularities and to separate the regularities stemming from different contexts. This problem is relevant for infants raised in monolingual environments, who may encounter changes in the regularities of speech across instances, speakers, accents, or dialects (Gonzales, Gerken, & Gómez, 2015). This problem is also relevant for infants growing up bilingual, who are exposed to two different languages, each with its own set of regularities, and who must learn their languages as distinct systems (Byers-Heinlein, 2014).…”