Poster #120 - “That’s a funny word!”: The Role of Dialect Vocabulary in Children’s Preferences for Social Partners

• In Event: 2-055 - Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Section - Language, Communication

Integrative Statement

Recent research suggests that young children are capable of distinguishing between phonetically dissimilar spoken accents, yet have difficulty distinguishing between phonetically similar accents (Wagner, Clopper, & Pate, 2013). The present study aimed to determine whether the presence of dialect-specific vocabulary enhances young children’s ability to categorize speakers. Participants (55 children in the United States between 4-7 years) were shown two photographs of children similar in age, gender, and attractiveness, on a computer screen. The experimenter informed each participant that “sometimes people who live in different places call things by different names. It doesn’t make them wrong, they’re just different.” One target photo had previously been randomly assigned British English dialect words, and the other target photo had been assigned American English dialect words. Participants were administered four training trials in which they viewed a photo of an object (e.g., an elevator) and were informed that one child called the object a lift, and that the other child called the object an elevator. A memory check ensured that all participants understood each training trial by asking participants to select which target child called the object a particular name (either “lift” or “elevator,” counterbalanced across trials and participants). After four training trials, participants completed eight test trials in which they were shown a photo of a new test object (e.g., a flashlight). Participants were told that some people called the object a “flashlight” (the American English label) and some people called the object a “torch” (the British English label). Participants were asked to choose which target child would call the object a “flashlight” or “torch” with the prompt counterbalanced across trials. After all test trials were completed, participants were asked to select which target child they would prefer to ask for the name of an unfamiliar object. Participants were also asked to select which target child they would rather play a game with.

Participants of all ages were able to correctly (greater than chance) categorize speakers based on whether they used dialect specific vocabulary that was familiar or unfamiliar to the participant (t(54)=14.208, p<.001) (see Table 1). A median split at 71 months of age divided participants into two age groups. Participants’ ability to categorize speakers did not significantly differ by age (p=.139) (see Table 1). 75.9% of all participants preferred the American English-speaking target child (t(54)=-4.415, p<.001), and preference did not significantly differ by age group (p=.055). 68.5% of all participants trusted the American English-speaking target child to have the correct name for the unknown object (t(54)=-2.9, p=.005); as with the preference question, selective trust did not differ significantly by age (p=.815). These interesting results suggest that, when accent differences are too subtle for children to categorize speakers, dialect-specific vocabulary may enhance young children’s ability to categorize a speaker. The results of the preference and selective trust questions suggest that children as young as four years use their knowledge of a speaker’s vocabulary to guide their preferred social interactions, choosing to interact with others who speak similarly to them.

Authors

• Madison Myers-Burg, University of Arkansas
  Presenting Author

• Rachel M Stevens, University of Arkansas
  Non-Presenting Author

• Douglas A Behrend, University of Arkansas
  Non-Presenting Author