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Related Concept Videos

Language Development01:22

Language 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...
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs. “eh”). Phonemes combine to...
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Language01:16

Language

Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
Chunking01:12

Chunking

Chunking is a powerful cognitive technique that improves short-term memory retention by organizing information into smaller, more manageable units. The brain, limited by working memory capacity, can more easily process and store information when it is divided into "chunks" rather than presented as discrete, unrelated elements. Chunking is especially useful when dealing with large amounts of information, such as numerical sequences, words, or complex ideas.
The principle behind chunking is...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
05:35

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Published on: April 19, 2017

Perceptual and memory constraints on language acquisition.

Ansgar D Endress1, Marina Nespor, Jacques Mehler

  • 1Harvard University, William James Hall 984, 33 Kirkland St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. ansgar.endress@m4x.org <ansgar.endress@m4x.org>

Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|August 4, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Humans use two core mechanisms for learning artificial and natural grammars, focusing on identity and positional regularities. This piecemeal approach explains complex linguistic data and bridges statistical and symbolic cognitive theories.

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Last Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
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Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Published on: April 19, 2017

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
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Published on: February 19, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Linguistics
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Organisms utilize specialized environmental coping mechanisms.
  • Human grammar acquisition may involve similar specialized mechanisms.
  • Existing models struggle to explain diverse artificial grammar learning (AGL) results.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose two fundamental mechanisms explaining AGL.
  • To account for various linguistic regularities using these mechanisms.
  • To bridge statistical and symbolic cognitive process theories.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of existing artificial grammar learning experiments.
  • Development of two computational mechanisms: one identity-sensitive, one position-sensitive.
  • Application of mechanisms to explain linguistic phenomena.

Main Results:

  • Two mechanisms successfully explain numerous AGL findings.
  • The mechanisms account for linguistic regularities like stress assignment.
  • A piecemeal computation approach clarifies complex cognitive data.

Conclusions:

  • Human grammar acquisition relies on specialized, piecemeal computational mechanisms.
  • These mechanisms integrate identity and positional information.
  • The findings offer a framework for unifying statistical and symbolic cognitive models.