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Locals don't have accents: children weigh phonological proficiency over syntactic or semantic proficiency when categorizing individuals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2018

Hyesung G. HWANG Open the ORCID record for Hyesung G. HWANG [Opens in a new window]  and
Lori MARKSON
Hyesung G. HWANG*
Affiliation:
Washington University in St Louis, USA
Lori MARKSON
Affiliation:
Washington University in St Louis, USA
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: hwang.h@wustl.edu
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Abstract

Children categorize native-accented speakers as local and non-native-accented speakers as foreign, suggesting they use accent (i.e., phonological proficiency) to determine social group membership. However, it is unclear if accent is the strongest – and only – group marker children use to determine social group membership, or whether other aspects of language, such as syntax and semantics, are also important markers. To test this, five- to eight-year-old monolingual English-speaking children were asked to judge whether individuals who varied in phonological, syntactic, and semantic proficiency were local or foreign. Children were also asked which individual they wanted as a friend. Children prioritized phonological proficiency over syntactic and semantic proficiency to determine social group membership. However, with age, children begin to shift toward prioritizing syntactic and semantic proficiency over phonological proficiency in their friendship decisions, suggesting that the capacity to integrate different aspects of a speaker's linguistic proficiency changes with development.

Keywords

Language DevelopmentAccent PerceptionSocial Cognition
Type
Brief Research Reports
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 45 , Issue 4 , July 2018 , pp. 1018 - 1034
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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