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Lexical and Prosodic Pitch Modifications in Cantonese Infant-directed Speech

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2021

Luchang WANG Open the ORCID record for Luchang WANG [Opens in a new window] ,
Marina KALASHNIKOVA ,
René KAGER ,
Regine LAI  and
Patrick C.M. WONG
Luchang WANG
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Marina KALASHNIKOVA
Affiliation:
Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, San Sebastian, Spain IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
René KAGER
Affiliation:
Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
Regine LAI
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Patrick C.M. WONG*
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
*
Address for correspondence: Patrick C.M. Wong, G03, Leung Kau Kui Building, Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Email: p.wong@cuhk.edu.hk
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Abstract

The functions of acoustic-phonetic modifications in infant-directed speech (IDS) remain a question: do they specifically serve to facilitate language learning via enhanced phonemic contrasts (the hyperarticulation hypothesis) or primarily to improve communication via prosodic exaggeration (the prosodic hypothesis)? The study of lexical tones provides a unique opportunity to shed light on this, as lexical tones are phonemically contrastive, yet their primary cue, pitch, is also a prosodic cue. This study investigated Cantonese IDS and found increased intra-talker variation of lexical tones, which more likely posed a challenge to rather than facilitated phonetic learning. Although tonal space was expanded which could facilitate phonetic learning, its expansion was a function of overall intonational modifications. Similar findings were observed in speech to pets who should not benefit from larger phonemic distinction. We conclude that lexical-tone adjustments in IDS mainly serve to broadly enhance communication rather than specifically increase phonemic contrast for learners.

Keywords

infant-directed speechpet-directed speechthe hyperarticulation hypothesisthe prosodic hypothesislexical tones
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 48 , Issue 6 , November 2021 , pp. 1235 - 1261
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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