Helena Levy

• University of Freiburg

Children around the world often grow up with multiple language varieties and are exposed to regional and second-language accents. This linguistic heterogeneity presents both benefits and challenges for cognitive and language development. Recognizing the importance of input variability in theories of language processing, researchers are now using mo...

We use a novel paradigm to examine the effect of language exposure and variable input on the acquisition of words in primary school–aged children. Children growing up with different languages and foreign or regional accents in their input might benefit from their experience with variability when learning new words from peers with unfamiliar accents...

This study assesses the effects of heterogeneous speech input on ratings of children's words and vowels. First, we examined whether exposure to a certain accent type or to different languages can predict accent categorization as standard, regional or foreign. Second, we examined how perceived accent strength of words and isolated vowels can be pred...

According to usage-based models of phonology, the more frequently a word is used and perceived in accented pronunciation variants, the more exemplars of accented tokens are stored and then used for subsequent productions of this word. This may lead to greater production variability in speakers with more variable input than in speakers with less var...

Substantial individual differences exist in regard to type and amount of experience with variable speech resulting from foreign or regional accents. Whereas prior experience helps with processing familiar accents, research on how experience with accented speech affects processing of unfamiliar accents is inconclusive, ranging from perceptual benefi...