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SUMMARY:On the role of imitation in learning to pronounce - Piers Messum\,
  University College London
DTSTART:20070418T150000Z
DTEND:20070418T163000Z
UID:TALK7078@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Sarah Hawkins
DESCRIPTION:Timing patterns and the qualities of speech sounds are two imp
 ortant aspects of pronunciation. It is generally believed that imitation f
 rom adult models is the mechanism by which a child replicates them. Howeve
 r\, this account is unsatisfactory\, both for theoretical reasons and beca
 use it leaves the\ndevelopmental data difficult to explain.\n\nI describe 
 two alternative mechanisms. The first explains some timing patterns (vowel
  length changes\, ‘rhythm’\, etc) as emerging because a child’s prod
 uction apparatus is small\, immature and in training. As a result\, both t
 he aerodynamics of his speech and his style of speech breathing differ mar
 kedly\nfrom the adult model. Under their constraints\, the child modifies 
 his segmental output in various ways which have effects on speech timing\;
  but these effects are epiphenomenal rather than the result of being model
 led directly.\n\nThe second mechanism accounts for how children learn to p
 ronounce speech sounds. The common\, but actually problematic\, assumption
  is that a child does this by judging the similarity between his own and o
 thers’ output\, and adjusting his production accordingly. Instead\, I pr
 opose a role for the typical vocal interaction of early childhood where a 
 mother reformulates (‘imitates’) her child’s output\, reflecting bac
 k the linguistic intentions she imputes to him. Thus the child can use an 
 adult judgment of similarity to determine equivalence between his producti
 on and adult output. This generates the most natural of forms for the unde
 rlying representation of speech sounds but via a more complex learning pro
 cess than simple imitation. As a result\, some longstanding problems in sp
 eech can be resolved and an integrated developmental account of production
  and perception emerges.\n
LOCATION:GR-04\, English Faculty Building
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