Projects
Infant Social Network and Language Learning
In this research project we aim to uncover the fascinating connection between an infant's vocabulary and their social interactions.
Researchers
- PhD candidate Alexandra Bogoyavlenskaya
- Prof. Luca Onnis
- Prof. Natalia Kartushina
Participate in the study
Do you have a child aged 18, 24, or 36 months, and would you like to contribute to research exploring how social interactions influence language learning?
By participating, you will gain insights into your baby's learning journey and contribute to important research that can benefit parents and educators alike.
Sign up!
- 18 months old (Nettskjema, in Norwegian)
- 24 months old (Nettskjema, in Norwegian)
- 35 months old (Nettskjema, in Norwegian)
Contact
If you have any questions about the study, please send an email to langcogstudy@hf.uio.no.
Multidialect exposure and early word learning
The current research project “Does multi-dialectal environment affect word learning in Norwegian 2.5-year-old toddlers?” examines the role of multi-dialectal environment on language development and word learning in Norwegian 2.5-year-old toddlers.
The aims of the current study are two-fold:
- It will assess whether dialectal variability in audio input hinders word learning in 2.5-year-old Norwegian toddlers growing up in linguistically homogeneous environments.
- It will examine whether toddlers’ dialect exposure (e.g., exposure to TV) modulates the effect.
The current study will build on previous online project (Kartushina et al., 2021), where we have developed and piloted a novel audio-visual tablet-based ebook that enables to examine the role of dialectal variability (in the storybook’s audio narration) on novel word learning.
In the current study, we will examine, online, whether:
- Toddlers learn words from an audio input that features multi-dialect variability better than from an audio book that features only one dialect
- Amount of TV exposure modulates learning outcomes
Researchers
- Prof. Natalia Kartushina (UiO), leader of the study
- Audun Rosslund (PhD candidate, UiO)
- Prof. Julien Mayor (UiO)
- Prof. Øystein Vangsnes (UiT, HLV)
References
- Kartushina, N., Rosslund, A., & Mayor, J. (2021). Toddlers raised in multi-dialectal families learn words better in accented speech than those raised in monodialectal families. Journal of Child Language, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000921000520
- Lo, C. H., Hermes, J., Kartushina, N., Mayor, J., & Mani, N. (2023). e-Babylab: An open-source browser-based tool for unmoderated online developmental studies. Behavior Research Methods. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-023-02200-7
Perceptual narrowing in Norwegian infants
The theory of perceptual narrowing proposes that infants come into the world sensitive to a wide range of speech contrasts, and gradually, within their first year, become attuned to the speech in their native language, while losing the ability to discriminate contrasts not present in their language (Werker & Tees, 1984).
However, empirical evidence for this claim predominantly comes from English-speaking infants (Singh et al., 2022), with a majority of studies using manual, error-prone experimental procedures, and few studies have examined both native and non-native discrimination with the same infants – a necessity to capture potential fine-grained shifts in perception within individuals.
In the current project we aim to assess the perceptual narrowing theory by examining native and non-native vowel discrimination, using eye-tracking and touch-screen mental chronometry, in 4-month-old and 36-month-old Norwegian infants, respectively.
Researchers
- Prof Natalia Kartushina (UiO)
- Audun Rosslund (PhD candidate, UiO)
- Prof. Julien Mayor (UiO)
References
- Singh, L., Rajendra, S. J., & Mazuka, R. (2022). Diversity and representation in studies of infant perceptual narrowing. Child Development Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12468
- Werker, J. F., & Tees, R. C. (1984). Cross-language speech perception: Evidence for perceptual reorganization during the first year of life. Infant Behavior & Development, 7(1), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0163-6383(84)80022-3
Ecology of Human Vocal Learning
In the project "The Ecology of Human Vocal Learning: a Child Network Approach" we hypothesize that individual differences in the social diversity of interactions of 11-month-old infants relate to their maturity of early vocalizations.
We thus predict that a larger speaker variability should lead to more mature, language-specific vocalizations at the same age.
This study contributes to a better understanding of the role of the linguistic niche in the emergence of human speech, and the trajectories of speech development.
Researchers
- Prof. Luca Onnis
- PhD candidate Alexandra Bogoyavlenskaya
- Postdoctoral fellow Arun Prakash Singh
- Prof. Natalia Kartushina