Priscilla Fung - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Priscilla Fung

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Dec 1, 2023

Cognitive Science, 2020

Monolingual toddlers reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than ... more Monolingual toddlers reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than their age-matched bilingual counterparts when learning new words. Here, we revisit this issue by testing monolingual and bilingual 24-montholds' reliance on the MEP to learn novel colour labels across multiple labelling instances, where cross-situational statistics link a particular label to a particular colourbut not a particular object. In addition, we ask whether the presentation of atypically-coloured objects (e.g., turquoise dogs) may have influenced how readily toddlers attached novel labels to colour terms rather than objects. Thus far, our results demonstrate that monolingual and bilingual toddlers are equally successful in learning colour labels when taught with atypically-coloured objects. However, only bilingual children are able to learn colour labels taught with typically-coloured objects. We conclude that researchers need to carefully consider the richness and statistical input in children's learning environments to better understand development in diverse language settings.

Past studies have shown that boys and girls sound distinct by 4 years old, long before 1 sexual d... more Past studies have shown that boys and girls sound distinct by 4 years old, long before 1 sexual dimorphisms in vocal anatomy develop. These gender differences are thought to be 2 learned within a particular speech community. However, no study has asked whether listeners’ 3 sensitivity to gender in child speech is modulated by language experience. This study shows that 4 gendered speech emerges at 2.5 years old, and that L1 listeners outperform L2 listeners in 5 detecting these differences. The findings highlight the role of language-specific sociolinguistic 6 factors in both speech perception and production, and show that gendered speech emerges earlier 7 than previously suggested. 8 © 2020 Acoustical Society of America 9

Monolingual children reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than ... more Monolingual children reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than bilinguals in word learning. However, past work has only examined toddlers' use of MEP after a single labelling. Here, we examine monolingual and bilingual 2-year-olds' reliance on the MEP to learn novel colour labels. Importantly, cross-situational statistics linked a particular label to a particular colourbut not to a particular object. As a secondary question, we asked whether the fact that past studies have presented children with atypically-coloured objects (e.g., turquoise dogs) may have influenced how readily children attached novel labels to colour terms rather than objects. Preliminary results suggest that monolinguals and bilinguals were equally successful in learning novel colour labels, but learning only occurred when the objects were atypicallycoloured. We conclude that researchers need to carefully consider the richness of children's home learning environments to better understand development in diverse language settings. iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor, Elizabeth Johnson, for her continuous support and guidance. Thank you for letting me to explore my ideas. This project will not be possible without your insights and expertise. I would also like to thank Craig Chambers for his constructive feedback and helpful comments on the manuscript. A special thanks to Thomas St. Pierre for your help with data analysis and technical assistance (i.e. with lab equipment). I would like to extend my gratitude to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for their financial contribution to my Master's thesis. It is challenging to complete this project within a year. To all the research assistants and our lab manager Lisa Hotson, thank you for making this happen! I am grateful to have met such amazing friends in graduate school, Madeleine Yu, Raheleh Saryazdi, Kay Otsubo, Emma Galarneau, and Prateek Dhamija. Thank you so much for all the moral support along the way and helping me survive this challenging year. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my family especially my grandparents. I would not be where I am now without your love and care!

Monolingual toddlers reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than ... more Monolingual toddlers reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than their age-matched bilingual counterparts when learning new words. Here, we revisit this issue by testing monolingual and bilingual 24-montholds’ reliance on the MEP to learn novel colour labels across multiple labelling instances, where cross-situational statistics link a particular label to a particular colour – but not a particular object. In addition, we ask whether the presentation of atypically-coloured objects (e.g., turquoise dogs) may have influenced how readily toddlers attached novel labels to colour terms rather than objects. Thus far, our results demonstrate that monolingual and bilingual toddlers are equally successful in learning colour labels when taught with atypically-coloured objects. However, only bilingual children are able to learn colour labels taught with typically-coloured objects. We conclude that researchers need to carefully consider the richness and statistica...

Early vocabulary development is heavily influenced by children's language environment. For ex... more Early vocabulary development is heavily influenced by children's language environment. For example, higher SES children who have frequent and rich interactions with caregivers tend to have larger vocabulary size than lower SES children who have less stable home environment (e.g., Hoff & Naigles, 2002). Because of the recent pandemic, most Canadian children have experienced dramatic changes to their day-to-day life. In the current study, we ask whether the pandemic environment affects children's vocabulary growth. We compare the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) scores of 11- to 34-month-olds collected before (N=1365) and after (N=301) the onset of COVID-19. Preliminary results show that CDI scores collected for toddlers after the pandemic onset are significantly lower than those collected before. We will continue to collect additional CDI data, and examine how factors such as screen time, reading time, SES, and number of people the child has regular i...

Canadian Pharmacists Journal / Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada, 2006

Epidemiology West Nile virus (WNV), as its name suggests, originated in the West Nile district of... more Epidemiology West Nile virus (WNV), as its name suggests, originated in the West Nile district of Uganda, Africa, in 1937, isolated in the blood of a native febrile woman. Since then, sporadic cases of WNV, manifested predominantly as mild febrile illness, have been reported in parts of Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. WNV first received attention when a significant outbreak of over 500 clinical cases was identified in Romania, Europe, from 1996–1997. The virus generated greater public health concerns when it migrated to the western hemisphere in 1999 with its discovery as human encephalitis in New York; it subsequently spread to Canada in 2001 and to the West Indies and the Caribbean in 2002. Figure 1 depicts the approximate time frame and geographic distribution of WNV; however, it does not include other countries that have been affected by the virus. In Canada, testing infected dead birds provides estimates of WNV spread within the country. In fact, results from a 2004 study revealed that WNV has rapidly spread through most of Canada, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Genetic studies of WNV found in New York in 1999 and the strain found in Israel in 1998 indicate that they are highly homologous, suggesting the virus originated from the Mediterranean. Unsure how the virus travelled overseas, researchers have postulated that it may have been carried by infected but asymptomatic travellers, by importation of illegal birds and domestic pets, and by the accidental introduction of infected mosquitoes and ticks. WNV directly spreads in a “bird-mosquito-bird cycle,” whereby infected mosquitoes feed upon birds that host and amplify the virus in their bloodstream. In turn, the birds transfer the virus to other mosquitoes that feed upon them. Humans and mammals, such as horses, can be infected, but they are considered “dead-end hosts,” because they are transient carriers and have low viremic levels that are insufficient to harbour viral growth. Thus, they are victims that are caught in the “cycle,” wherein they become infected by mosquito bites and by direct contact with infected birds that shed the virus. Human-to-human contact can also magnify the plague; for instance, a mother can transfer the virus to her child through the placenta during pregnancy or while breast feeding, and individuals can become infected through blood transfusions, by an organ transplant, or through occupational exposure.

Past studies have shown that boys and girls sound distinct by 4 years old, long before sexual dim... more Past studies have shown that boys and girls sound distinct by 4 years old, long before sexual dimorphisms in vocal anatomy develop. These gender differences are thought to be learned within a particular speech community. However, no study has asked whether listeners' sensitivity to gender in child speech is modulated by language experience. This study shows that gendered speech emerges at 2.5 years old, and that L1 listeners outperform L2 listeners in detecting these differences. The findings highlight the role of language-specific sociolinguistic factors in both speech perception and production, and show that gendered speech emerges earlier than previously suggested.

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Dec 1, 2023

Cognitive Science, 2020

Monolingual toddlers reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than ... more Monolingual toddlers reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than their age-matched bilingual counterparts when learning new words. Here, we revisit this issue by testing monolingual and bilingual 24-montholds' reliance on the MEP to learn novel colour labels across multiple labelling instances, where cross-situational statistics link a particular label to a particular colourbut not a particular object. In addition, we ask whether the presentation of atypically-coloured objects (e.g., turquoise dogs) may have influenced how readily toddlers attached novel labels to colour terms rather than objects. Thus far, our results demonstrate that monolingual and bilingual toddlers are equally successful in learning colour labels when taught with atypically-coloured objects. However, only bilingual children are able to learn colour labels taught with typically-coloured objects. We conclude that researchers need to carefully consider the richness and statistical input in children's learning environments to better understand development in diverse language settings.

Past studies have shown that boys and girls sound distinct by 4 years old, long before 1 sexual d... more Past studies have shown that boys and girls sound distinct by 4 years old, long before 1 sexual dimorphisms in vocal anatomy develop. These gender differences are thought to be 2 learned within a particular speech community. However, no study has asked whether listeners’ 3 sensitivity to gender in child speech is modulated by language experience. This study shows that 4 gendered speech emerges at 2.5 years old, and that L1 listeners outperform L2 listeners in 5 detecting these differences. The findings highlight the role of language-specific sociolinguistic 6 factors in both speech perception and production, and show that gendered speech emerges earlier 7 than previously suggested. 8 © 2020 Acoustical Society of America 9

Monolingual children reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than ... more Monolingual children reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than bilinguals in word learning. However, past work has only examined toddlers' use of MEP after a single labelling. Here, we examine monolingual and bilingual 2-year-olds' reliance on the MEP to learn novel colour labels. Importantly, cross-situational statistics linked a particular label to a particular colourbut not to a particular object. As a secondary question, we asked whether the fact that past studies have presented children with atypically-coloured objects (e.g., turquoise dogs) may have influenced how readily children attached novel labels to colour terms rather than objects. Preliminary results suggest that monolinguals and bilinguals were equally successful in learning novel colour labels, but learning only occurred when the objects were atypicallycoloured. We conclude that researchers need to carefully consider the richness of children's home learning environments to better understand development in diverse language settings. iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor, Elizabeth Johnson, for her continuous support and guidance. Thank you for letting me to explore my ideas. This project will not be possible without your insights and expertise. I would also like to thank Craig Chambers for his constructive feedback and helpful comments on the manuscript. A special thanks to Thomas St. Pierre for your help with data analysis and technical assistance (i.e. with lab equipment). I would like to extend my gratitude to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for their financial contribution to my Master's thesis. It is challenging to complete this project within a year. To all the research assistants and our lab manager Lisa Hotson, thank you for making this happen! I am grateful to have met such amazing friends in graduate school, Madeleine Yu, Raheleh Saryazdi, Kay Otsubo, Emma Galarneau, and Prateek Dhamija. Thank you so much for all the moral support along the way and helping me survive this challenging year. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my family especially my grandparents. I would not be where I am now without your love and care!

Monolingual toddlers reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than ... more Monolingual toddlers reportedly rely more heavily on the Mutual Exclusivity Principle (MEP) than their age-matched bilingual counterparts when learning new words. Here, we revisit this issue by testing monolingual and bilingual 24-montholds’ reliance on the MEP to learn novel colour labels across multiple labelling instances, where cross-situational statistics link a particular label to a particular colour – but not a particular object. In addition, we ask whether the presentation of atypically-coloured objects (e.g., turquoise dogs) may have influenced how readily toddlers attached novel labels to colour terms rather than objects. Thus far, our results demonstrate that monolingual and bilingual toddlers are equally successful in learning colour labels when taught with atypically-coloured objects. However, only bilingual children are able to learn colour labels taught with typically-coloured objects. We conclude that researchers need to carefully consider the richness and statistica...

Early vocabulary development is heavily influenced by children's language environment. For ex... more Early vocabulary development is heavily influenced by children's language environment. For example, higher SES children who have frequent and rich interactions with caregivers tend to have larger vocabulary size than lower SES children who have less stable home environment (e.g., Hoff & Naigles, 2002). Because of the recent pandemic, most Canadian children have experienced dramatic changes to their day-to-day life. In the current study, we ask whether the pandemic environment affects children's vocabulary growth. We compare the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) scores of 11- to 34-month-olds collected before (N=1365) and after (N=301) the onset of COVID-19. Preliminary results show that CDI scores collected for toddlers after the pandemic onset are significantly lower than those collected before. We will continue to collect additional CDI data, and examine how factors such as screen time, reading time, SES, and number of people the child has regular i...

Canadian Pharmacists Journal / Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada, 2006

Epidemiology West Nile virus (WNV), as its name suggests, originated in the West Nile district of... more Epidemiology West Nile virus (WNV), as its name suggests, originated in the West Nile district of Uganda, Africa, in 1937, isolated in the blood of a native febrile woman. Since then, sporadic cases of WNV, manifested predominantly as mild febrile illness, have been reported in parts of Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. WNV first received attention when a significant outbreak of over 500 clinical cases was identified in Romania, Europe, from 1996–1997. The virus generated greater public health concerns when it migrated to the western hemisphere in 1999 with its discovery as human encephalitis in New York; it subsequently spread to Canada in 2001 and to the West Indies and the Caribbean in 2002. Figure 1 depicts the approximate time frame and geographic distribution of WNV; however, it does not include other countries that have been affected by the virus. In Canada, testing infected dead birds provides estimates of WNV spread within the country. In fact, results from a 2004 study revealed that WNV has rapidly spread through most of Canada, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Genetic studies of WNV found in New York in 1999 and the strain found in Israel in 1998 indicate that they are highly homologous, suggesting the virus originated from the Mediterranean. Unsure how the virus travelled overseas, researchers have postulated that it may have been carried by infected but asymptomatic travellers, by importation of illegal birds and domestic pets, and by the accidental introduction of infected mosquitoes and ticks. WNV directly spreads in a “bird-mosquito-bird cycle,” whereby infected mosquitoes feed upon birds that host and amplify the virus in their bloodstream. In turn, the birds transfer the virus to other mosquitoes that feed upon them. Humans and mammals, such as horses, can be infected, but they are considered “dead-end hosts,” because they are transient carriers and have low viremic levels that are insufficient to harbour viral growth. Thus, they are victims that are caught in the “cycle,” wherein they become infected by mosquito bites and by direct contact with infected birds that shed the virus. Human-to-human contact can also magnify the plague; for instance, a mother can transfer the virus to her child through the placenta during pregnancy or while breast feeding, and individuals can become infected through blood transfusions, by an organ transplant, or through occupational exposure.

Past studies have shown that boys and girls sound distinct by 4 years old, long before sexual dim... more Past studies have shown that boys and girls sound distinct by 4 years old, long before sexual dimorphisms in vocal anatomy develop. These gender differences are thought to be learned within a particular speech community. However, no study has asked whether listeners' sensitivity to gender in child speech is modulated by language experience. This study shows that gendered speech emerges at 2.5 years old, and that L1 listeners outperform L2 listeners in detecting these differences. The findings highlight the role of language-specific sociolinguistic factors in both speech perception and production, and show that gendered speech emerges earlier than previously suggested.