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Related Experiment Videos

A new view of language acquisition.

P K Kuhl1

  • 1Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Box 357920, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. pkkuhl@u.washington.edu

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|October 26, 2000
PubMed
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See all related articles

Infants learn their native language by perceptually mapping speech statistics before speaking. This early linguistic experience shapes their perception, contrary to previous theories.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Linguistics
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Infants acquire native language knowledge within the first year of life, prior to speech production.
  • This acquisition involves the perceptual mapping of ambient language features.
  • Existing theories do not fully account for infants' early linguistic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present new data on infants' early language acquisition.
  • To describe a novel theoretical position on how infants learn language.
  • To highlight the role of statistical learning in early language development.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of existing data on infant language acquisition.
  • Observation of infants' perceptual mapping of ambient language.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Review of theoretical frameworks in language development.

    • Main Results:

    • Infants perceptually map critical aspects of their native language before speaking.
    • Statistical properties of ambient speech are acquired through exposure.
    • Linguistic experience actively alters and shapes infant speech perception.

    Conclusions:

    • Infants employ sophisticated, unpredicted strategies for language acquisition.
    • Early linguistic experience fundamentally influences perceptual development.
    • A new theoretical framework explains these unexpected findings in infant language learning.