Statistical distributions of consonant variants in infant-directed speech: Evidence that /t/ may be exceptional

Dilley, Laura C.; Gamache, Jessica L.; Wang, Yuanyuan; Houston, Derek M.; Bergeson, Tonya R.

doi:10.1016/j.wocn.2019.05.004

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 122 publications

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“…One possibility is that infants merely need more input. It is possible that we tested infants at an Finally, it is possible that infants' learning of the [t]-tap mapping in English is complicated by the fact that /t/ in conversational speech can surface as a glottalized variant, including a full glottal stop, or it can even be entirely deleted, in addition to its tapped realization (Dilley et al 2019;Buckler, Goy & Johnson, 2018). This added variability might further contribute to the difficulty of learning the [t]-tap mapping.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stem similarity modulates infants' acquisition of phonological alternations

et al. 2021

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Phonemes have variant pronunciations depending on context. For instance, in American English, the [t] in pat [paet] and the [d] in pad [paed] are both realized with a tap [ɾ] when the -ing suffix is attached, [paeɾɪŋ]. We show that despite greater distributional and acoustic support for the [t]tap alternation, 12-month-olds successfully relate taps to stems with a perceptually-similar final [d], not the dissimilar final-[t]. Thus, distributional learning of phonological alternations is constrained by infants' preference for the alternation of perceptually-similar segments. Further, the ability to relate variant surface forms emerges between 8-and 12-months. Our findings of biased learning provide further empirical support for a role for perceptual similarity in the acquisition of linguistically-relevant categories. We discuss the implications of our findings for phonological theory, language acquisition and models of the mental lexicon.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stem similarity modulates infants' acquisition of phonological alternations

et al. 2021

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“…For consistency, I use Bayesian modeling for both verbs: a binomial model for is , and a multinomial one for has . Recent linguistic papers that make use of multinomial MCMCglmms include Levshina ( 2016 ), Grafmiller et al ( 2018 ), and Dilley et al ( 2019 ). For a detailed description of the philosophy and methodology behind these models that is geared to a linguistic audience, the reader is pointed to the first two of these articles.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For this reason, no study to date has yet adequately analyzed the quantitative patterning of has in spoken language in a way that recognizes its three unique surface realizations and allows all three possible forms to vary independently. The present study does this, capitalizing on a recent movement employing Bayesian multinomial modeling for the analysis of ternary linguistic variation (e.g., Levshina, 2016 ; Grafmiller et al, 2018 ; Dilley et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Constraints on Contraction Using Bayesian Regression Modeling

MacKenzie

2020

Front. Artif. Intell.

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This paper has three goals: (1) to document the factors shaping is -contraction in Mainstream American English; (2) to assess the extent to which these factors also shape contraction of has ; (3) to use shared patterns of contraction across the two verbs to draw conclusions about how the varying forms are represented grammatically. While is has two distinct phonological forms in variation, has has three. This necessitates regression modeling which can handle non-binary response variables; I use Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo modeling. Through this modeling, I (1) uncover a number of novel predictors shaping contraction of is , and (2) demonstrate that many of the patterns shown by is are also in evidence for has . I also (3) argue that modeling has -variation as the product of two stages of binary choices—a common treatment of three-way variation in variationist sociolinguistics—cannot adequately explain the quantitative patterns, which are only compatible with a grammatical model under which three distinct forms vary with each other. The findings have theoretical and methodological consequences for sociolinguistic work on ternary variables.

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“…IDS and ADS differ in the pronunciation of vowels (D. Burnham et al, 2002;E. B. Burnham et al, 2015;Englund & Behne, 2005;Kalashnikova et al, 2017;Kuhl et al, 1997;Miyazawa et al, 2017;Piazza et al, 2017;Wassink et al, 2007), consonants (Cristià, 2010;Dilley et al, 2019;Englund, 2005;S. A. S. Lee & Davis, 2010;S.…”

Section: Articulatory Qualities Of Infant-directed Speechmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…IDS also has striking phonetic qualities: First, it has distinct prosody, referring to the slower speaking rates as well as the higher and more variable intonational pitch of IDS compared to ADS (Fernald & Simon, 1984;Fernald et al, 1989;Grieser & Kuhl, 1988;Papoušek et al, 1991). Second, IDS phonetics have a unique articulatory profile, which can refer to the frequency with which particular speech sounds occur (Dilley et al, 2019;S. A. S. Lee & Davis, 2010;S.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking the phonetics of baby‐talk: Differences across Canada and Vanuatu in the articulation of mothers' speech to infants

McClay

Cebioğlu

Broesch

et al. 2021

Developmental Science

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Infant-directed speech (IDS) is phonetically distinct from adult-directed speech (ADS):It is typically considered to have special prosody-like higher pitch and slower speaking rates-as well as unique speech sound properties, for example, more breathy, hyperarticulated, and/or variable consonant and vowel articulation. These phonetic features are widely observed in the IDS of caregivers from urbanized contexts who speak a handful of very well-researched languages. Yet studies with more diverse sociocultural and linguistic samples show that this "typical" IDS prosody is not consistently observed across cultures. We extended cross-cultural work by examining IDS speech segment articulation, which-like prosody-is also thought to be a characteristic phonetic feature of IDS that might aid speech and language development. Here we asked whether IDS vowels have different articulatory features compared to ADS vowels in two distinct linguistic and socio-cultural contexts: urban English-speaking Canadian mothers, and rural Lenakel-and Southwest Tanna-speaking ni-Vanuatu mothers (n = 57, 20-46 years of age). Replicating prior work, Canadian mothers had more variable vowels in IDS compared to ADS, but also did not show clear register differences for breathiness or hyperarticulation. Vowels spoken by ni-Vanuatu mothers showed very distinct articulatory tendencies, using less variable (and less breathy) IDS vowels. Along with other work showing diversity in IDS phonetics across populations, this paper suggests that any understanding of how IDS might aid speech and language development are best examined through a culturally-and linguistically-specific lens.

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Statistical distributions of consonant variants in infant-directed speech: Evidence that /t/ may be exceptional

Cited by 11 publications

References 122 publications

Stem similarity modulates infants' acquisition of phonological alternations

Stem similarity modulates infants' acquisition of phonological alternations

Comparing Constraints on Contraction Using Bayesian Regression Modeling

Rethinking the phonetics of baby‐talk: Differences across Canada and Vanuatu in the articulation of mothers' speech to infants

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