Our annual event in commemoration of Yvonne Becker
May 30, 2024
By Nicole North
Dr. Carolyn Quam, an associate professor at the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Portland State University, presented her research at our second annual Yvonne Becker Colloquium on May 30, 2024. The topic of the colloquium centred on her recent work examining early childhood sensitivity to phonological vs. non-phonological distinctions between words and sounds.
The room was filled to capacity as Dr. Quam discussed her findings that developmental language disorder (DLD) impacts mapping of sounds to meanings, and that differences in sound-meaning mapping may be driven by impairments to sound discrimination. There was a lively extended Q & A session following the research presentation, in which Dr. Quam explained how her research has important implications for language-education policies for children with disabilities.
Dr. Nancy Hedberg, who had the pleasure of being one of Yvonne Becker's instructors during her undergraduate studies at SFU Linguistics, gave a speech in commemoration of Yvonne at the beginning of the event. In addition to her prepared remarks, Dr. Hedberg offered entertaining recollections on Yvonne's personality, her dry wit, and her passion for linguistics. It was a lovely tribute to our most significant benefactor.
Acting Department Chair Dr. Henny Yeung introduced the colloquium speaker and facilitated the Q & A discussion. Dr. Yeung also provided context on the meaning and intention underlying the Land Acknowledgement that he presented at the beginning of the event. As the department that houses the Indigenous Languages Program, SFU Linguistics is truly committed to reconciliation and to language revitalization in Indigenous communities of the Pacific Northwest.
Undergraduate Curriculum Chair Dr. Chung-hye Han presented the winner of the undergraduate Becker Essay Prize, Kayla Koch. Kayla was acknowledged for her exceptional work and given a certificate of achievement. Kayla also enjoyed a luncheon with select faculty, graduate students, and Dr. Quam following the event.
Title
Bilingualism and developmental language disorder shape phonological aspects of word learning
Abstract
Phonological development can be thought of as a process of learning to dimensionalize the input. Children must take in a variable acoustic signal and develop abstract linguistic knowledge. To accomplish this, they have to find meaningful dimensions and attribute them to the right levels of structure. This requires differentially attending to phonological and non-phonological changes in words and sounds. Across three lines of research, I have examined learners’ sensitivity to phonological vs. non-phonological distinctions between words and sounds. First, we report that English-learning toddlers are flexible learners, willing to learn words distinguished on both a phonological dimension (vowel quality) and a non-phonological dimension (pitch). This contrasts with older learners, who typically show more phonologically constrained responses. Second, we find increased flexibility in Mandarin-English bilinguals, who nimbly interpret pitch content in accordance with the language context. Last, we characterize learning in preschoolers with and without developmental language disorder (DLD). We find that DLD impacts mapping of sounds to meanings, and that differences in sound-meaning mapping may be driven by impairments to sound discrimination. In future work, I hope to investigate how sound-processing impairments in DLD interact with bilingual flexibility. This topic has important implications for the intersection of language-education policies and services for children with disabilities.
