Adult Learning of Novel Words in a Non-native Language: Consonants, Vowels, and Tones.

ABSTRACT: While words are distinguished primarily by consonants and vowels in many languages, tones are also used in the majority of the world's languages to cue lexical contrasts. However, studies on novel word learning have largely concentrated on consonants and vowels. To shed more light on the use of tonal information in novel word learning and its relationship with the development of phonological categories, the present study explored how adults' ability to learn minimal pair pseudowords in a tone language is modulated by their native phonological knowledge. Twenty-four adult speakers of three languages were tested: Cantonese, Mandarin, and French. Eye-tracking was used to record eye movements of these learners, while they were watching animated cartoons in Cantonese. On each trial, adults had

SUBMITTER: Poltrock S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6066720 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature