> I suspect there is some neuroplasticity involved in language--certain sounds seem to be indistinguishable to non-native speakers after a certain age. I suppo

> I suspect there is some neuroplasticity involved in language--certain sounds seem to be indistinguishable to non-native speakers after a certain age. I suppose (just my personal not scientifically founded opinion) being able to distinguish foreign language phonemes is a skill akin to absolute pitch. If you acquire it early on you'll be able to apply it to whatever new language you encounter later in life. It'd be interesting to see if this also applies to phonemes that are formed in a manner entirely from the ones you're used to from your native language (like being able to grasp tonemes in Mandarin Chinese as a native English speaker). Then again a lack in pronunciation skills in a particular foreign language also often is simply about utility: Using your own native set of phonemes to mimic foreign language phonemes most of the time will get you far enough to be reasonably understandable while adopting truly native-sounding phonetics means a lot of additional work with often little perceived benefit. I suppose the Pareto principle applies in that case.