Remote Testing of the Familiar Word Effect With Non-dialectal and Dialectal German-Learning 1–2-Year-Olds

Variability is pervasive in spoken language, in particular if one is exposed to two varieties of the same language (e.g., the standard variety and a dialect). Unlike in bilingual settings, standard and dialectal forms are often phonologically related, increasing the variability in word forms (e.g.,...

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Autores principales:	Bettina Braun, Nathalie Czeke, Jasmin Rimpler, Claus Zinn, Jonas Probst, Bastian Goldlücke, Julia Kretschmer, Katharina Zahner-Ritter
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:	familiar word effect remote testing iPad App word representation children German Psychology BF1-990
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1155610da1ae47e0808f870bac518b18
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1155610da1ae47e0808f870bac518b182021-12-02T05:39:28ZRemote Testing of the Familiar Word Effect With Non-dialectal and Dialectal German-Learning 1–2-Year-Olds1664-107810.3389/fpsyg.2021.714363https://doaj.org/article/1155610da1ae47e0808f870bac518b182021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.714363/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/1664-1078Variability is pervasive in spoken language, in particular if one is exposed to two varieties of the same language (e.g., the standard variety and a dialect). Unlike in bilingual settings, standard and dialectal forms are often phonologically related, increasing the variability in word forms (e.g., German Fuß “foot” is produced as [fus] in Standard German and as [fs] in the Alemannic dialect). We investigate whether dialectal variability in children’s input affects their ability to recognize words in Standard German, testing non-dialectal vs. dialectal children. Non-dialectal children, who typically grow up in urban areas, mostly hear Standard German forms, and hence encounter little segmental variability in their input. Dialectal children in turn, who typically grow up in rural areas, hear both Standard German and dialectal forms, and are hence exposed to a large amount of variability in their input. We employ the familiar word paradigm for German children aged 12–18 months. Since dialectal children from rural areas are hard to recruit for laboratory studies, we programmed an App that allows all parents to test their children at home. Looking times to familiar vs. non-familiar words were analyzed using a semi-automatic procedure based on neural networks. Our results replicate the familiarity preference for non-dialectal German 12–18-month-old children (longer looking times to familiar words than vs. non-familiar words). Non-dialectal children in the same age range, on the other hand, showed a novelty preference. One explanation for the novelty preference in dialectal children may be more mature linguistic processing, caused by more variability of word forms in the input. This linguistic maturation hypothesis is addressed in Experiment 2, in which we tested older children (18–24-month-olds). These children, who are not exposed to dialectal forms, also showed a novelty preference. Taken together, our findings show that both dialectal and non-dialectal German children recognized the familiar Standard German word forms, but their looking pattern differed as a function of the variability in the input. Frequent exposure to both dialectal and Standard German word forms may hence have affected the nature of (prelexical and/or) lexical representations, leading to more mature processing capacities.Bettina BraunNathalie CzekeJasmin RimplerClaus ZinnJonas ProbstBastian GoldlückeJulia KretschmerKatharina Zahner-RitterKatharina Zahner-RitterFrontiers Media S.A.articlefamiliar word effectremote testingiPad Appword representationchildrenGermanPsychologyBF1-990ENFrontiers in Psychology, Vol 12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	familiar word effect remote testing iPad App word representation children German Psychology BF1-990
spellingShingle	familiar word effect remote testing iPad App word representation children German Psychology BF1-990 Bettina Braun Nathalie Czeke Jasmin Rimpler Claus Zinn Jonas Probst Bastian Goldlücke Julia Kretschmer Katharina Zahner-Ritter Katharina Zahner-Ritter Remote Testing of the Familiar Word Effect With Non-dialectal and Dialectal German-Learning 1–2-Year-Olds
description	Variability is pervasive in spoken language, in particular if one is exposed to two varieties of the same language (e.g., the standard variety and a dialect). Unlike in bilingual settings, standard and dialectal forms are often phonologically related, increasing the variability in word forms (e.g., German Fuß “foot” is produced as [fus] in Standard German and as [fs] in the Alemannic dialect). We investigate whether dialectal variability in children’s input affects their ability to recognize words in Standard German, testing non-dialectal vs. dialectal children. Non-dialectal children, who typically grow up in urban areas, mostly hear Standard German forms, and hence encounter little segmental variability in their input. Dialectal children in turn, who typically grow up in rural areas, hear both Standard German and dialectal forms, and are hence exposed to a large amount of variability in their input. We employ the familiar word paradigm for German children aged 12–18 months. Since dialectal children from rural areas are hard to recruit for laboratory studies, we programmed an App that allows all parents to test their children at home. Looking times to familiar vs. non-familiar words were analyzed using a semi-automatic procedure based on neural networks. Our results replicate the familiarity preference for non-dialectal German 12–18-month-old children (longer looking times to familiar words than vs. non-familiar words). Non-dialectal children in the same age range, on the other hand, showed a novelty preference. One explanation for the novelty preference in dialectal children may be more mature linguistic processing, caused by more variability of word forms in the input. This linguistic maturation hypothesis is addressed in Experiment 2, in which we tested older children (18–24-month-olds). These children, who are not exposed to dialectal forms, also showed a novelty preference. Taken together, our findings show that both dialectal and non-dialectal German children recognized the familiar Standard German word forms, but their looking pattern differed as a function of the variability in the input. Frequent exposure to both dialectal and Standard German word forms may hence have affected the nature of (prelexical and/or) lexical representations, leading to more mature processing capacities.
format	article
author	Bettina Braun Nathalie Czeke Jasmin Rimpler Claus Zinn Jonas Probst Bastian Goldlücke Julia Kretschmer Katharina Zahner-Ritter Katharina Zahner-Ritter
author_facet	Bettina Braun Nathalie Czeke Jasmin Rimpler Claus Zinn Jonas Probst Bastian Goldlücke Julia Kretschmer Katharina Zahner-Ritter Katharina Zahner-Ritter
author_sort	Bettina Braun
title	Remote Testing of the Familiar Word Effect With Non-dialectal and Dialectal German-Learning 1–2-Year-Olds
title_short	Remote Testing of the Familiar Word Effect With Non-dialectal and Dialectal German-Learning 1–2-Year-Olds
title_full	Remote Testing of the Familiar Word Effect With Non-dialectal and Dialectal German-Learning 1–2-Year-Olds
title_fullStr	Remote Testing of the Familiar Word Effect With Non-dialectal and Dialectal German-Learning 1–2-Year-Olds
title_full_unstemmed	Remote Testing of the Familiar Word Effect With Non-dialectal and Dialectal German-Learning 1–2-Year-Olds
title_sort	remote testing of the familiar word effect with non-dialectal and dialectal german-learning 1–2-year-olds
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/1155610da1ae47e0808f870bac518b18
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Remote Testing of the Familiar Word Effect With Non-dialectal and Dialectal German-Learning 1–2-Year-Olds

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