Perception of indexical properties of speech by children

The speech signal contains two primary sources of information: Information about what the speaker is saying and information about who is speaking. This chapter reviews the literature on the development of talker perception and research showing that the interaction between talker and linguistic processing that has been found for adults is also present in children. It focuses on the development of indexical processing and how indexical and linguistic information interact in younger listeners. The ability to detect differences between talkers develops even before a baby is born and the ability to process information about unfamiliar talkers develops throughout childhood and into adolescence. There is clear evidence from research with adults that supports the importance of understanding the relationship between linguistic processing and talker processing. Talker variability in speech perception has been found to improve speech production in children. Accurate perception of talker information continues to develop through childhood and into adolescence.