Phonological learning based on interactive and mediated speech

Introduction Current models of language change assume that face-to-face interaction is essential for the kind of phonological learning which leads to change, and reject the possibility that such learning occurs from noninteractive speech sources such as radio and television. This assumption is challenged by recent findings showing that the broadcast media are involved in certain phonological changes. But almost no research directly investigates whether these different experiences of language cause differences in phonological learning. We report the first steps of a research programme to compare how listeners learn about an accent other than their own through face-to-face interaction versus watching a video of the same.