TY - JOUR
T1 - Editorial
T2 - Tonal language processing and acquisition in native and non-native speakers
AU - Han, Weifeng
AU - Wang, Xin
AU - Chen, Liang
PY - 2024/12/6
Y1 - 2024/12/6
N2 - Over 60% of world languages use pitch patterns to distinguish individual words or the grammatical forms of words. Some tonal languages involve moving pitch patterns or contour tones, e.g., from a flat pitch to a rising pitch, in distinguishing the morphosyntactic and semantic features. Tonal language acquisition and processing present a distinct linguistic challenge (Best, 2019). In contour tonal languages like Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Yoruba, these pitch patterns vary dynamically, imposing additional complexity on both native speakers, who rely on tones from an early age, and non-native speakers who struggle with the novel tonal distinctions. The five articles in this Research Topic explore tonal language processing and acquisition from both native and non-native perspectives, examining how multimodal cues, intonation, statistical learning, and perceptual compensation impact learners' abilities to recognize and reproduce tonal patterns. Collectively, these studies highlight the nuanced nature of tonal language acquisition and contribute essential insights for language pedagogy, cognitive science, and applied linguistics.
AB - Over 60% of world languages use pitch patterns to distinguish individual words or the grammatical forms of words. Some tonal languages involve moving pitch patterns or contour tones, e.g., from a flat pitch to a rising pitch, in distinguishing the morphosyntactic and semantic features. Tonal language acquisition and processing present a distinct linguistic challenge (Best, 2019). In contour tonal languages like Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Yoruba, these pitch patterns vary dynamically, imposing additional complexity on both native speakers, who rely on tones from an early age, and non-native speakers who struggle with the novel tonal distinctions. The five articles in this Research Topic explore tonal language processing and acquisition from both native and non-native perspectives, examining how multimodal cues, intonation, statistical learning, and perceptual compensation impact learners' abilities to recognize and reproduce tonal patterns. Collectively, these studies highlight the nuanced nature of tonal language acquisition and contribute essential insights for language pedagogy, cognitive science, and applied linguistics.
KW - tonal language
KW - non-tone language
KW - language processing
KW - language acquisition
KW - native speaker
KW - non-native speaker
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85212492110&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/feduc.2024.1531218
DO - 10.3389/feduc.2024.1531218
M3 - Editorial
SN - 2504-284X
VL - 9
JO - Frontiers in Education
JF - Frontiers in Education
M1 - 1531218
ER -