Structure and Function in the Acquisition of Phonetic Categories: Fingerprints of the Learning Process
BibTeX
@MISC{Lotto_structureand,
author = {Andrew J. Lotto and Lori L. Holt},
title = {Structure and Function in the Acquisition of Phonetic Categories: Fingerprints of the Learning Process},
year = {}
}
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Abstract
Recently, speech researchers have begun to examine the formation of speech sound (phonetic) categories and to analyze the internal structure of the consequent categories. One of the most prominent products of this subfield has been the Perceptual Magnet Effect (PME) and the attendant Native Language Magnet (NLM) theory of Kuhl (1991, 2000). In the present paper, a critical review of the evidence for NLM is offered. Because of concerns about the nature of the stimuli, possible confounds inherent in the empirical procedures and failed replications, it is concluded that there is little positive evidence supporting NLM. However, the goal of uncovering the structures of phonetic categories and mechanisms responsible for those structures remains central to an understanding of language acquisition and speech perception more generally. Data from several empirical paradigms investigating the formation and structure of complex auditory categories are beginning to form a coherent picture of phonetic category acquisition.
