Can we go over statistical distributions together sometime?
I don't understand question 11 ("What does Kuhl mean by infants tracking “statistical distributions”? [Hint: Do Japanese-learning infants hear both /r/ and /l/? How is Japanese- and English-learners’ input different?]")
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
I might be way off..
I was thinking "statistical distribution", in the case of the English-learning infants and the Japanese-learning infants, had to do with specifically what sounds/phonemes are important in their language. In English /r/ and /l/ are different sounds- we hear them as distinct and they're used in different environments within an utterance, but in Japanese /r/ and /l/ are in the same category or group of sounds. The differences are not important for their language, so they hear them as the same and use them interchangeably throughout speech.
Then I was thinking for #12 that "statistical learning" is the actual process babies use during exposure to their native language. So they can begin sorting out sounds and how they're used in relation to other sounds, which sort of sets the baseline for recognizing combinations of sounds used in language and eventually picking out words.
Post a Comment