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Mind and Intelligence Research Core

Laboratory for Language Development

Reiko MAZUKA, Ph.D.
Reiko MAZUKA, Ph.D.
Laboratory Head
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PublicationMain Publications at RIKEN

Research Areas

We investigate how young infants become interested in speech that surround them, and learn to be the speaker of that language. In particular, we focus on the role of 'prosody' (i.e., intonation, rhythm and other suprasegmental characteristics of the speech) in language acquisition. We study how infants become attuned to the prosodic characteristics of their ambient language, and how acquiring it would affect other domains of language development.



Research Subjects

  1. Acquisition of language specific phonology and prosody by Japanese infants.
  2. Phonetic and prosodic characteristics of Japanese infant directed speech
  3. Contribution of linguistic information and cognitive development in children's language comprehension
  4. Role of sound-character relationship in learning how to read in Japanese
  5. Computational modeling of phonological acquisition

Selected Publications

  1. Jincho, N., Namiki, H., and Mazuka, R.:
    "Effects of verbal working memory and cumulative linguistic knowledge on reading comprehension."
    Japanese Psychological Research, 50, pp12-23 (2008)
  2. Gervain, J., Nespor, M., Horie, R., and Mehler, J.:
    "Bootstrapping word order in prelexical infants: a Japanese-Italian cross-linguistic study."
    Cognitive Psychology, Vol.57, No.1, pp56-74 (2008)
  3. Kawahara, S. and Sinya, T.:
    "The intonation of gapping and coordination in Japanese: evidence for intonational phrase and utterance."
    Phonetica, Vol.65, pp62-105 (2008)
  4. Oishi, H.:
    "The Immediate of Effect Pragmatic Plausibility in Reanalysis: Evidence from Event-related Brain Potentials."
    Journal of Japanese Linguistics, Vol.23, pp1-20 (2007)
  5. Mazuka, R. and Imai, M.:
    "Language-relative construal of individuation constrained by universal ontology: revisiting language universals and linguistic relativity."
    Cognitive Science, Vol.31, pp385-413 (2007)
  6. Mazuka, R.:
    "The rhythm-based prosodic bootstrapping hypothesis of early language acquisition: Does it work for learning for all languages."
    Journal of the Liguistic Society of Japan　9, No132, 1-13.(2007)
  7. Sato, Y., Sogabe, Y., and Mazuka, R.:
    "Brain responses in the processing of lexical pitch-accent by Japanese speakers."
    NeuroReport, Vol.18, No.18, pp 2001-2004(2007)
  8. Mazuka, R., Kondo, T., and Hayashi, A.:
    "Japanese mothers' use of specialized vocabulary in infant-directed speech: Infant-directed vocabulary in Japanese."
    Origin of Language Reconsidered, (ed.) N. Masataka, Springer Verlag, Germany (2008)
  9. Minai, U.: "Probing Logical Aspects of Language Development"
    "An Enterprise in the Cognitive Science of Language: A Festschrift for Yukio Otsu."
    Hitsuji Shobo Publishing Company, Japan (2008)
  10. Igarashi, Y. and Mazuka, R.:
    "Exaggerated prosody in infant-directed speech　Intonational phonological analysis of Japanese infant-directed speech."
    BUCLD 32, Cascadilla Press, U.S.A. (2008)

Main Publications at RIKEN


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