The vowels /i/, /y/, /u/, and /unrounded u/ define one surface of the vowel space, whether defined in articulatory or acoustic terms. Adults can give goodness ratings to vowels from the space surrounding prototypic vowels, the prototypic vowels typically obtaining the highest ratings. Does this reflect unlearned structural sensitivities or some averaging process during life? Is it true in newborns? Attractiveness or ‘‘goodness’’ was measured by how long newborns listened to first presentation of a set of vowel stimuli. The longer the listen, the better the newborn perceived that vowel to be. The edges of the surface defined by /i/, /y/, /u/, and /unrounded u/ was broken into 40 steps. Twenty newborns (7–33 h) were presented with 21 stimuli defining two edges of the vowel surface, five infants begining at each corner of the vowel surface. The corner, prototype vowels are preferred over intermediates; even /y/ and /unrounded u/ which do not occur in Texas. However, /i/ and /u/, which do occur in Texas, do elicit more listening than the other two corner vowels. Unlearned, structural sensitivities have been affected by experience in infants as young as 7 h of age.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.