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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...
The Nativist Approach01:21

The 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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
08:05

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Published on: June 30, 2020

Isolated words enhance statistical language learning in infancy.

Casey Lew-Williams1, Bruna Pelucchi, Jenny R Saffran

  • 1Department of Psychology and Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53705-2280, USA. lewwilliams@wisc.edu

Developmental Science
|October 21, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Infants learn word boundaries by tracking statistical patterns. Variability in speech, including isolated words alongside fluent speech, is crucial for this statistical learning in infants.

More Related Videos

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms
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Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Published on: February 8, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 28, 2026

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
08:05

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Published on: June 30, 2020

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms
07:31

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Published on: February 8, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • Infants utilize statistical regularities to identify word boundaries in continuous speech.
  • Previous research often employed artificial languages, limiting the understanding of statistical learning in natural language acquisition.
  • The role of input variability in infant statistical learning remains under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of speech variability on infants' statistical learning of word boundaries.
  • To determine if exposure to natural speech with varying utterance lengths benefits word segmentation.
  • To examine the combined effect of fluent speech and isolated words on infant word discovery.

Main Methods:

  • English-learning infants aged 8-10 months were exposed to natural Italian speech.
  • Two conditions were tested: fluent speech only, and a combination of fluent speech and single-word utterances.
  • Infant listening times were measured to assess learning of statistical properties of target words.

Main Results:

  • Infants successfully learned target word properties only when words were presented in both fluent speech and isolation.
  • Brief exposure to fluent speech alone was insufficient for infants to detect word statistical properties.
  • Variability in utterance length, specifically the inclusion of isolated words, enhanced statistical learning.

Conclusions:

  • Statistical learning mechanisms in infants benefit from variability in utterance length.
  • Isolated words and longer utterances work together to support infant word segmentation.
  • This study provides evidence for the importance of diverse speech input for early language acquisition.