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Cross‐linguistic contributions of acoustic cues and prosodic awareness to first and second language vocabulary knowledge
Author(s) -
Chung WeiLun,
Jarmulowicz Linda,
Bidelman Gavin M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of research in reading
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.077
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1467-9817
pISSN - 0141-0423
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9817.12349
Subject(s) - psychology , mandarin chinese , vocabulary , linguistics , prosody , rhyme , phonological awareness , perception , syllable , stress (linguistics) , speech perception , reading (process) , cognitive psychology , philosophy , poetry , neuroscience
Background Several studies have revealed that prosody contributes to reading acquisition. However, the relation between awareness of prosodic patterns and different facets of language ability (e.g., vocabulary knowledge) in school‐age children remains unclear. This study measured awareness of prosodic patterns using non‐speech and speech stimuli. Methods Hierarchical regression equations were computed to examine links among auditory cues (e.g., amplitude rise time, pitch contour and interval), language‐specific prosodic awareness and children's vocabulary knowledge in Mandarin as a first language (L1) and English as a second language (L2) after controlling for age and nonverbal IQ. Results Results revealed that (1) amplitude envelope rise time discrimination predicted Mandarin L1 and English L2 vocabulary knowledge, (2) Mandarin tone perception and rhyme awareness did not predict Mandarin L1 vocabulary and (3) English rhyme awareness better predicted English L2 vocabulary than did stress production. Conclusion Our findings suggest that (1) amplitude rise time, which signals syllable boundaries, is a cross‐linguistic predictor of vocabulary knowledge and (2) the development of English L2 vocabulary may depend on phonological more than prosodic awareness.