Navigating accent variability: 24-month-olds recognize known words spoken in an unfamiliar accent but require additional support to learn new words.

ABSTRACT: As infants learn their native languages, they must also learn to contend with variability across speakers of those languages. Here, we examine 24-month-olds' ability to process speech in an unfamiliar accent. We demonstrate that 24-month-olds successfully identify the referents of known words in unfamiliar-accented speech but cannot use known words alone to infer new word meanings. However, when the novel word occurs in a supportive referential context, with the target referent visually available, 24-month-olds successfully learn new word-referent mappings. Thus, 24-month-olds recognize and learn words in unfamiliar accents, but unfamiliar-accented speech may pose challenges for more sophisticated language processing strategies.

SUBMITTER: LaTourrette A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11384469 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature