What babies bring to our understanding of vowel perception

Vowels are produced and perceived very early in infancy and occupy a central role in speech communication across the lifespan. Many phenomena first uncovered in vowel research with adults were later explored with infants. This produced important findings that inform our understanding of vowel perception and production development. In this talk, I will highlight several perception findings that were initially discovered in infants which now also direct fruitful lines of research with adults. I will focus on two perceptual biases—the focal vowel bias and the infant talker bias—each involving information conveyed by vowels. The focal vowel bias identifies a universal vowel perception bias that is germane across the lifespan. Elaborating the mechanism(s) behind this bias can lead us to a more principled understanding of basic vowel perception processes. The infant talker bias – first identified in infants and now also in adults – reveals a robust bias favoring infant conspecific vocalizations. This bias appears to impact infant development directly and also indirectly via its’ positive effect on parenting behaviors. Going forward, the interplay of research across age groups will continue to bring us a deeper understanding and appreciation of the ubiquitous role of vowels in human cognition.