Conference Paper Published

Abstract

Categorizing ambiguous sounds requires integrating acoustic-phonemic information with lexical knowledge. However, the developmental change of this integration during childhood is not yet fully understood. The Ganong paradigm, in which lexical status modulates phoneme categorization boundaries, provides a direct measure of this integration. We administered a Ganong task to Mandarin-speaking children from Grades 1–6 (N = 150, ages 6–12, 68 females) and adults (N = 28, 13 females), using Mandarin Tone 1–Tone 2 contrast continua. Results revealed that, while both lexical reliance and acoustic-phonemic processing remained stable from Grade 1, their relationship underwent developmental reorganization. Younger children (Grades 1–5) processed acoustic-phonemic and lexical cues independently, while older children and adults exhibited a trade-off between the two routes. Besides, language proficiency modulated this pattern, with higher proficiency associated with stronger trade-off. The transition from independent processing to strategic balancing supports interactive frameworks wherein top-down lexical knowledge actively guides phonemic category refinement. These findings reveal that development of lexical tone categorization involves reorganization of bottom-up and top-down interactions throughout middle childhood in Mandarin-speaking children.

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