Mark Antoniou

Language context elicits native-like stop voicing in early bilinguals’ productions in both L1 and L2

The way that bilinguals produce phones in each of their languages provides a window into the nature of the bilingual phonological space. For stop consonants, if early sequential bilinguals, whose languages differ in voice onset time (VOT) distinctions, produce native-like VOTs in each of their languages, it would imply that they have developed separate first and second language phones, that is, language-specific phonetic realisations for stop-voicing distinctions. Given the ambiguous phonological status of Greek voiced stops, which has been debated but not investigated experimentally, Greek-English bilinguals can offer a unique perspective on this issue. We first recorded the speech of Greek and Australian-English monolinguals to observe native VOTs in each language for /p, t, b, d/ in word-initial and word-medial (post-vocalic and post-nasal) positions. We then recorded fluent, early Greek-Australian-English bilinguals in either a Greek or English language context; all communication occurred in only one language. The bilinguals in the Greek context were indistinguishable from the Greek monolinguals, whereas the bilinguals in the English context matched the VOTs of the Australian-English monolinguals in initial position, but showed some modest differences from them in the phonetically more complex medial positions. We interpret these results as evidence that bilingual speakers possess phonetic categories for voiced versus voiceless stops that are specific to each language, but are influenced by positional context differently in their second than in their first language.

Foreign language training as cognitive therapy for age-related cognitive decline: A hypothesis for future research

Over the next fifty years, the number of older adults is set to reach record levels. Protecting older adults from the age-related effects of cognitive decline is one of the greatest challenges of the next few decades as it places increasing pressure on families, health systems, and economies on a global scale. The disease-state of age-related cognitive decline-Alzheimers disease and other dementias-hijacks our consciousness and intellectual autonomy. However, there is evidence that cognitively stimulating activities protect against the adverse effects of cognitive decline. Similarly, bilingualism is also considered to be a safeguard. We propose that foreign language learning programs aimed at older populations are an optimal solution for building cognitive reserve because language learning engages an extensive brain network that is known to overlap with the regions negatively affected by the aging process. It is recommended that future research should test this potentially fruitful hypothesis.

The bilingual advantage in phonetic learning

Numerous factors are thought to be advantageous for non-native language learning although they are typically investigated in isolation, and the interaction between them is not understood. Firstly, bilinguals are claimed to acquire a third language easier than monolinguals acquire a second. Secondly, closely related languages may be easier to learn. Thirdly, certain phonetic features could be universally more difficult to acquire. We tested these hypotheses used as explanations by having adults learn vocabularies that differentiated words using foreign phonetic contrasts. In Experiment 1, Mandarin–English bilinguals outlearned English monolinguals, and the Mandarin-like (retroflex) artificial language was better learned than the English-like (fricative voicing). In Experiment 2, bilinguals again outlearned English monolinguals for the Mandarin-like artificial language. However, only Korean–English bilinguals showed an advantage for the more difficult Korean-like (lenition) language. Bilinguals, relative to monolinguals, show a general advantage when learning ‘easy’ contrasts, but phonetic similarity to the native language is useful for learning universally ‘difficult’ contrasts.

Varying irrelevant phonetic features hinders learning of the feature being trained

Learning to distinguish nonnative words that differ in a critical phonetic feature can be difficult. Speech training studies typically employ methods that explicitly direct the learners attention to the relevant nonnative feature to be learned. However, studies on vision have demonstrated that perceptual learning may occur implicitly, by exposing learners to stimulus features, even if they are irrelevant to the task, and it has recently been suggested that this task-irrelevant perceptual learning framework also applies to speech. In this study, subjects took part in a seven-day training regimen to learn to distinguish one of two nonnative features, namely, voice onset time or lexical tone, using explicit training methods consistent with most speech training studies. Critically, half of the subjects were exposed to stimuli that varied not only in the relevant feature, but in the irrelevant feature as well. The results showed that subjects who were trained with stimuli that varied in the relevant feature and held the irrelevant feature constant achieved the best learning outcomes. Varying both features hindered learning and generalization to new stimuli.

Poor phonetic perceivers are affected by cognitive load when resolving talker variability.

Speech training paradigms aim to maximise learning outcomes by manipulating external factors such as talker variability. However, not all individuals may benefit from such manipulations because subject-external factors interact with subject-internal ones (e.g., aptitude) to determine speech perception and/or learning success. In a previous tone learning study, high-aptitude individuals benefitted from talker variability, whereas low-aptitude individuals were impaired. Because increases in cognitive load have been shown to hinder speech perception in mixed-talker conditions, it has been proposed that resolving talker variability requires cognitive resources. This proposal leads to the hypothesis that low-aptitude individuals do not use their cognitive resources as efficiently as those with high aptitude. Here, high- and low-aptitude subjects identified pitch contours spoken by multiple talkers under high and low cognitive load conditions established by a secondary task. While high-aptitude listeners outperformed low-aptitude listeners across load conditions, only low-aptitude listeners were impaired by increased cognitive load. The findings suggest that low-aptitude listeners either have fewer available cognitive resources or are poorer at allocating attention to the signal. Therefore, cognitive load is an important factor when considering individual differences in speech perception and training paradigms.

Auditory cues that drive language development are language specific: Evidence from Cantonese

The mechanisms that allow for both language-specific and universal constraints in language development are not fully understood. According to the rhythm detection hypothesis, sensitivity to rhythm is the underlying mechanism that is fundamental to language development. Support from a number of Western languages, as well as Mandarin, has led to the proposal that rhythm detection may provide a language-universal account of language development. However, claims of universality may be premature because most research has addressed reading (rather than language) development, only a small number of languages have been investigated, and pitch is a better predictor of reading than rhythm in Mandarin children. Therefore, we examined language development using a narrative story-retelling task in children who speak Cantonese (a more complex tone inventory than Mandarin) and also assessed temporal and pitch-based auditory abilities to consider whether temporal processing drives development in a tone language. Both temporal and pitch abilities correlated with language development, but only pitch explained unique variance in language after age. The findings support the role of basic auditory processing mechanisms in language development, but they extend beyond the rhythm detection hypothesis by demonstrating that the fundamental cues for development are dependent on the specific processing demands of each language, rather than being universal.

Uncovering the mechanisms responsible for why language learning may promote healthy cognitive aging

One of the great challenges facing humankind in the 21st century is preserving healthy brain function in our aging population. Individuals over 60 are the fastest growing age group in the world, and by 2050, it is estimated that the number of people over the age of 60 will triple. The typical aging process involves cognitive decline related to brain atrophy, especially in frontal brain areas and regions that subserve declarative memory, loss of synaptic connections, and the emergence of neuropathological symptoms associated with dementia. The disease-state of this age-related cognitive decline is Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, which may cause older adults to lose their independence and rely on others to live safely, burdening family members and health care systems in the process. However, there are two lines of research that offer hope to those seeking to promote healthy cognitive aging. First, it has been observed that lifestyle variables such as cognitive leisure activities can moderate the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, which has led to the development of plasticity-based interventions for older adults designed to protect against the adverse effects of cognitive decline. Second, there is evidence that lifelong bilingualism acts as a safeguard in preserving healthy brain function, possibly delaying the incidence of dementia by several years. In previous work, we have suggested that foreign language learning programs aimed at older populations are an optimal solution for building cognitive reserve because language learning engages an extensive brain network that is known to overlap with the regions negatively affected by the aging process. Here, we will outline potential future lines of research that may uncover the mechanism responsible for the emergence of language learning related brain advantages, such as language typology, bi- vs. multi-lingualism, age of acquisition, and the elements that are likely to result in the largest gains.

What Can Lexical Tone Training Studies in Adults Tell Us about Tone Processing in Children

A growing number of studies on the acquisition of lexical tone by adult learners have revealed that factors such as language background, musical experience, cognitive abilities, and neuroanatomy all play a role in determining tone learning success. On the basis of these findings, it has been argued that the effectiveness of tone learning in adulthood depends on individual differences in these factors. However, it is not clear whether similar individual differences play an analogous role in tone learning in childhood. Indeed, relatively few studies have made comparisons between how adults and children learn lexical tones. Here, we review recent developments for tone learning in both adults and children. The review covers tone training in a range of contexts, including in naive listeners, in native speakers of other tone languages, in listeners with varying levels of musical experience, and in individuals with speech and hearing disorders. Finally, we discuss the parallels between adult and child tone learning, and provide recommendations concerning how findings in adult tone training can provide insights into tone learning for children by accommodating the needs of individual learners.

Effects of combination of linguistic and musical pitch experience on subcortical pitch encoding

Abstract Musical experience and linguistic experience have been shown to facilitate language and music perception. However, the precise nature of music and language interaction is still a subject of ongoing research. In this study, using subcortical electrophysiological measures (frequency following response), we seek to understand the effect of interaction of linguistic pitch experience and musical pitch experience on subcortical lexical and musical pitch encoding. We compared musicians and non-musicians who were native speakers of a tone language on subcortical encoding of linguistic and musical pitch. We found that musicians and non-musicians did not differ on the brainstem encoding of lexical tones. However, musicians showed a more robust brainstem encoding of musical pitch as compared to non-musicians. These findings suggest that a combined musical and linguistic pitch experience affects auditory brainstem encoding of linguistic and musical pitch differentially. From our results, we could also speculate that native tone language speakers might use two different mechanisms, at least for the subcortical encoding of linguistic and musical pitch.