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Pointing sets the stage for learning language--and creating language.

Susan Goldin-Meadow1

  • 1University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. sgm@uchicago.edu

Child Development
|May 23, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Pointing gestures are crucial for early language development. This study shows how these early communicative acts form the foundation for both learning and creating language.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Linguistics
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Pointing gestures are fundamental early communicative acts.
  • Shared intentionality is key to human social cognition.
  • The development of language is intrinsically linked to early communication.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide evidence supporting the role of pointing gestures in language acquisition.
  • To explore how pointing gestures facilitate the creation of language.
  • To examine the connection between pointing, shared intentionality, and linguistic development.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing developmental psychology literature.
  • Analysis of studies on infant pointing and communication.
  • Theoretical argumentation based on shared intentionality frameworks.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Pointing gestures serve as a foundational element for language learning.
  • Early pointing behaviors establish the basis for linguistic communication.
  • Pointing contributes to the development of shared intentionality crucial for language.

Conclusions:

  • Pointing gestures are more than simple object referencers; they are foundational to language.
  • The development of pointing is a critical precursor to both language acquisition and innovation.
  • Shared intentionality, fostered by pointing, underpins linguistic competence.