Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2026
06:34
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
How infants begin to extract words from speech
1Departments of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Ames Hall, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218-2686, USA.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|August 26, 1999
Summary
Infants learn to identify words in speech by using various cues, developing this skill over time. By 24 months, their word recognition matches adult levels, crucial for language acquisition.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Acquiring native language vocabulary relies on segmenting words from fluent speech.
- Early word segmentation in English-learning infants (around 7.5 months) is limited to predominant stress patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review how infants develop word segmentation abilities.
- To explore the various cues infants use to identify word boundaries in fluent speech.
- To understand the developmental trajectory of word segmentation from infancy to toddlerhood.
Main Methods:
- This is a review article, synthesizing existing research on infant word segmentation.
- Analysis of studies examining infant speech perception and language acquisition milestones.
Main Results:
- Infants' word segmentation improves with age, incorporating more complex cues.
- By 10.5 months, infants utilize statistical regularities, allophonic cues, and phonotactic patterns.
- By 24 months, infant word recognition speed and accuracy approach adult levels.
Conclusions:
- Infant word segmentation is a multi-cue process that develops significantly during the first two years of life.
- Mastery of word segmentation is foundational for developing vocabulary and overall language understanding.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:31Hearing
When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.
01:22Imprinting
Behavioral imprinting is observed in some newborn animals and occurs when they develop strong and specific attachments to another animal (usually a parent) following brief, early-life exposures. Offspring imprint onto parents within a brief period after birth or hatching; this time window is called the critical period. Once imprinting occurs, the bond established between the parents and their offspring is usually long-lasting.
01:22Development of Immunocompetence
The initiation of cell-mediated immunity can be observed as early as the third month of fetal growth, with active antibody-mediated immunity following approximately one month later.
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
01:22Language Development
Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
01:14Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development
The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
Exploration...
01:21The Nativist Approach
The nativist approach to infant cognitive development proposes that infants are born with inherent knowledge structures that allow them to interpret the world almost immediately. This perspective contrasts with earlier developmental theories, such as those proposed by Jean Piaget, which emphasized a more gradual acquisition of cognitive abilities through interaction with the environment. One key concept in this approach is object permanence — the understanding that objects continue to exist...