Cynthia Clopper, "Sociolinguistic Competence: What Children Know about How Speech Indexes Regional Background "

Time: 5-6:30 p.m.
Event Host: College of Arts and Sciences
Short Description: Adults use information in the speech signal to identify properties of their interlocutors, such as where they are from. Children must acquire this knowledge about the relationships between speech variation and regional background as part of the language-acquisition process. The results of a series of studies exploring children’s and adults’ perception of regional dialect variation in American English demonstrate both acquisition of the fundamental skills underlying adult-like sociolinguistic competence by preschool-age, as well as protracted continued development of sociolinguistic categories into adolescence, when adult-like performance is achieved.

Adults use information in the speech signal to identify properties of their interlocutors, such as where they are from. Children must acquire this knowledge about the relationships between speech variation and regional background as part of the language-acquisition process. The results of a series of studies exploring children’s and adults’ perception of regional dialect variation in American English demonstrate both acquisition of the fundamental skills underlying adult-like sociolinguistic competence by preschool-age, as well as protracted continued development of sociolinguistic categories into adolescence, when adult-like performance is achieved.

Each year, the Arts and Humanities celebrate faculty who have recently been promoted to the rank of professor by asking each to present a public lecture on his or her body of research or creative activity and current projects. All lectures are held at the Faculty Club, ABCD Rooms (2nd floor). Wednesday lectures are from 5-6:30 p.m., and Friday lectures are from 2-3:30 p.m. A reception will accompany each lecture. All are free and open to the public.