Applied Psycholinguistics

Table of Contents - July 2012 - Volume 33, Issue 03  

Articles

Cross-linguistic differences in the immediate serial recall of consonants versus vowels

ELIZABETH M. KISSLINGa1 c1

a1 Georgetown University

ABSTRACT

The current study investigated native English and native Arabic speakers’ phonological short-term memory for sequences of consonants and vowels. Phonological short-term memory was assessed in immediate serial recall tasks conducted in Arabic and English for both groups. Participants (n = 39) heard series of six consonant–vowel syllables and wrote down what they recalled. Native speakers of English recalled the vowel series better than consonant series in English and in Arabic, which was not true of native Arabic speakers. An analysis of variance showed that there was an interaction between first language and phoneme type. The results are discussed in light of current research on consonant and vowel processing.

(Received November 10 2009)

(Accepted November 18 2010)

Correspondence:

c1 ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Elizabeth M. Kissling, Department of Linguistics, ICC 479, Georgetown University, 37th Street and O Street, NW, Washington, DC 20057. E-mail: emk47@georgetown.edu

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