brief article a perceptual interference strongaccountstrong of acquisition.pdfVIP

P. Iverson et al. / Cognition 87 (2003) B47–B57 B47 Cognition 87 (2003) B47–B57 /locate/cognit Brief article A perceptual interference account of acquisition difficulties for non-native phonemes a,* b c Paul Iverson , Patricia K. Kuhl , Reiko Akahane-Yamada , Eugen Dieschd e , Yoh’ich Tohkura , Andreas Kettermannf, Claudia Siebertf aDepartment of Phonetics and Linguistics, University College London, 4 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2HE, UK b Center for Mind, Brain, and Learning, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA cATR Human Information Science Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan dDepartment of Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany eNTT Science and Core Technology Laboratory Group, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa, Japan fInstitute of Psychology, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany Received 17 May 2002; accepted 11 October 2002 Abstract This article presents an account of how early language experience can impede the acquisition of non-native phonemes during adulthood. The hypothesis is that early language experience alters relatively low-level perceptual processing, and that these changes interfere with the formation and adaptability of higher-level linguistic representations. Supporting data are presented from an experi- ment that tested the perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japane