Is There a 'Trochaic Bias' in Early Word Learning? Evidence from Infant Production in English and French.

Analyzed vocalizations/verbalizations from children acquiring English or French in later single-word period to identify trochaic bias. Found that neither language's vocalizations were exclusively trochaic. French/English differences in iambic productions and acoustic realization of accent were traceable to adult input. Distribution of trochaic and iambic patterns in English-learning infants was traceable to integration of prosodic and segmental patterning in individuals. (Author/KB)