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Markedness in Acquisition

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Is there evidence for innate markedness-based bias in language processing? ... um...ber...umber. Lower Harmony. Higher Harmony. May 7, 2003. University of Amsterdam ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Markedness in Acquisition


1
Markedness in Acquisition
  • Is there evidence for innate markedness-based
    bias in language processing?
  • Look to see whether young infants are sensitive
    to markedness before theyve had sufficient
    relevant experience
  • Before 6 months, infants have not shown
    sensitivity to language-particular phonotactics

2
Experimental Exploration of the Initial State
  • Collaborators
  • Peter Jusczyk Theresa AlloccoLanguage
    Acquisition, 2002
  • Karen Arnold Elliott Moretonin progress
  • Grammar at 4.5 months?

3
The Initial State
  • OT-general MARKEDNESS FAITHFULNESS
  • Learnability demands (Richness of the Base)
  • (Alan Prince, p.c., 93 Smolensky 96a)
  • ? Child production restricted to the unmarked
  • ? Child comprehension not so restricted
  • (Smolensky 96b)

4
Testing the Initial State
  • Linking hypothesis
  • More harmonic phonological stimuli ? Longer
    listening time
  • More harmonic
  • ?M ? M, when equal on F
  • ?F ? F, when equal on M
  • When must choose one or the other, more harmonic
    to satisfy M M F
  • M Nasal Place Assimilation (NPA)

5
Experimental Paradigm
  • Headturn Preference Procedure (Kemler Nelson et
    al. 95 Jusczyk 97)
  • X/Y/XY paradigm (P. Jusczyk)
  • un...b?...umb?
  • un...b?...umb?

FNP
R
p .006
?FAITH
  • Highly general paradigm Main result

6
4.5 Months (NPA)
7
4.5 Months (NPA)
8
4.5 Months (NPA)
9
5 Experiments
10
? Experimental Paradigm
  • Headturn Preference Procedure (Kemler Nelson et
    al. 95 Jusczyk 97)
  • X/Y/XY paradigm (P. Jusczyk)
  • un...b?...umb? un...b?...umb? XYXY

FNP
R
p .006
?FAITH
  • Highly general paradigm Main result

11
? Linking Hypothesis
  • Experimental results challenging to explain
  • Suppose stimuli A and B differ w.r.t. f.
  • Child MARKf FAITHf (M F). Then
  • If A is consistent with M F and B is
    consistent with F M then prefer (attend
    longer to) A A gt B
  • Confirmation disconfirmation bias
  • Most preferred Evidence that both confirms their
    favored hypothesis re M vs. F ranking, and
    disconfirms their disfavored hypothesis
  • Attend longest to most informative stimuli

12
? Linking Hypothesis
  • Experimental results challenging to explain
  • Suppose stimuli A and B differ w.r.t. f.
  • Child MARKf FAITHf (M F). Then
  • If A is consistent with M F and B is
    consistent with F M then prefer (attend
    longer to) A A gt B
  • MARKf Nasal Place Agreement
  • f Place

13
? Experimental Results
If A is consistent with M F and B is
consistent with F M then prefer (attend
longer to) A A gt B
gt
mb ? mb
nb ? nb
gt
?
gt
?
nb ? nd
nb ? mb
p lt .05 ?MARK
p lt .001 nb ? mb M F
p lt .05 n ? m detectable
p gt .40 /nb/ nd ?UG mb
p gt .30 UG ? unreliability
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