Listeners' Familiarity and Perception of an Idiosyncratic Phonologic Pattern

Abstract

Idiosyncratic production of [1] for target /i/ (for example, production of the word “less” for “yes”) was observed in a phonologically impaired preschooler. Recordings of his apparently homonymous productions of minimal pairs contrasting /j/ and /l/ were presented in random order to the child's mother and to five adult listeners who were unfamiliar with the child. No difference was seen across the listeners in their ability to identify target /l/ words. The child's mother, however, correctly identified /j/ targets more frequently than did unfamiliar listeners suggesting that familiarity enhances one's ability to decode idiosyncratic phonologic error patterns.