[Effects of pitch accent on short-term retention of words in young children].
This study examined whether pitch accent would affect young children's short-term retention of words. Sixteen 3- and 4-year-olds and fourteen 5- and 6-year-olds received word-span tests under two conditions. In one condition (pitch accent-congruent condition), the pitch accent of presented words were congruent with the pitch accent that the children usually use for those words; whereas, in the other condition (pitch accent-incongruent condition), the pitch accent of presented words were not congruent with the pitch accent that the children usually use for those words. Three- and 4-year-olds' word span was shorter under the pitch accent-incongruent condition than under the pitch accent-congruent condition; whereas the pitch accent of presented words did not affect 5- and 6-year-olds' word span. The result was discussed in terms of the roles of pitch accent in the activities of the phonological loop and word learning.
Yuzawa
Miki
M
Faculty of Education, Hiroshima University, Higashi-hiroshima 739-8523.
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D014825:Vocabulary