Abstract:

This study built on earlier investigations of the effects of noise on speech identification by nonnative speakers. Oyama showed that the ability of native Italian subjects to identify speech in noise was inversely related to their age of arrival (AOA) in the United States [J. Psycholinguist. Res. 5, 261--283 (1976)]. Mayberry and Fischer showed that more phonological and fewer semantic errors are made the later sign language is acquired, indicating that late learners allocate more attention to bottom-up processes [Mem. Cognit. 17, 740--754 (1989)]. Subjects in the present study were native English (NE) and Italian/English bilinguals differing in their AOA in Canada. The stimuli were naturally produced, semantically unpredictable English sentences. Subjects repeated as much of each sentence as possible as it was presented at successively higher S/N ratios (-6, 0, 6, 12 dB). NE subjects outperformed the bilinguals, despite the latter's lengthy residence in Canada (M=35.4 years). The bilinguals' performance varied inversely as a function of AOA. Scores were also related to individual differences in phonological short term memory. Additional analyses will determine whether late learners allocate more attention to bottom-up processes than do NE subjects. [Work supported by NIH.]