The Acquisition of Contrastive Focus during Online Sentence-Comprehension by Children Learning Mandarin Chinese

Autor/inn/en	Tang, Ping; Yuen, Ivan; Demuth, Katherine; Rattanasone, Nan Xu
Titel	The Acquisition of Contrastive Focus during Online Sentence-Comprehension by Children Learning Mandarin Chinese
Quelle	In: Developmental Psychology, 59 (2023) 5, S.845-861 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Tang, Ping)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0012-1649
DOI	10.1037/dev0001498
Schlagwörter	Mandarin Chinese; Suprasegmentals; Intonation; Prediction; Language Processing; Cues; Nouns; Phrase Structure; Elementary School Students; Age Differences; Foreign Countries; Cognitive Mapping; Language Usage; Eye Movements; Language Acquisition; Undergraduate Students; Auditory Stimuli; Word Recognition; Speech Communication; Tone Languages; Sentences; Animals; Color; Pictorial Stimuli; Task Analysis; Computer Software; Audio Equipment; Error Patterns; Japanese; English; Contrastive Linguistics; China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Vorhersage; Sprachverarbeitung; Stichwort; Phrasenstruktur; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Ausland; Sprachgebrauch; Augenbewegung; Sprachaneignung; Spracherwerb; Auditive Stimulation; Worterkennung; Tonsprache; Sentence analysis; Satzanalyse; Animal; Tier; Tiere; Colour; Farbbezeichnung; Farbe; Fantasieanregung; Aufgabenanalyse; Audio-CD; Fehlertyp; Japaner; Japanisch; English language; Englisch; Linguistics; Kontrastive Linguistik
Abstract	Contrastive focus, conveyed by prosodic cues, marks important information. Studies have shown that 6-year-olds learning English and Japanese can use contrastive focus during online sentence comprehension: focus used in a "contrastive context" facilitates the identification of a target referent (speeding up processing), whereas focus used inappropriately in a "noncontrastive context" misleads listeners to predict an incorrect referent, hindering the identification process (Ito et al., 2012, 2014). In Mandarin Chinese, the mapping between prosodic form and contrastive focus is less transparent, potentially delaying the acquisition of contrastive focus. This study assessed the online processing of contrastive focus by 196 Mandarin-speaking 4-10-year-olds and 34 adults in China, using the visual world paradigm. Stimuli contained a target NP in a mini discourse, with focus being used in "contrastive" (Experiment 1) versus "Noncontrastive" contexts (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 showed that the "appropriate" use of prosodic form for contrastive focus facilitated the identification of a target referent for 7-10-year-olds and adults, though not younger children. Experiment 2 showed that the "inappropriate" use of prosodic form for contrastive focus slowed the identification process only for 10-year-olds and adults. Thus, whereas 7-10-year-olds are sensitive to prosodic form for contrastive focus, only 10-year-olds use it as a primary cue to predict an upcoming referent like adults. The acquisition of contrastive focus in Mandarin is therefore a gradual process, with children showing sensitivity to contrastive focus during the early school years, and developing adult-like form-function mapping between prosody and focus until the end of primary school. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01