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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Published on: July 13, 2019

Statistical evidence that a child can create a combinatorial linguistic system without external linguistic input:

Susan Goldin-Meadow¹, Charles Yang²

¹University of Chicago, Departments of Psychology and Comparative Human Development, 5848 South University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, United States.

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews

|January 3, 2017

Summary

Children can develop productive grammar and combinatorial language systems, like homesign, even without external linguistic input. This suggests an innate biological capacity for language creation.

Keywords:

Computational linguistics Homesign Language development Linguistic input Sign language

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Area of Science:

Linguistics
Developmental Psychology
Cognitive Science

Background:

Deaf children without sign language exposure develop homesign.
Homesign is a gestural communication system.
Previous research suggests children's language acquisition involves productive grammar.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine if homesign exhibits productive grammar.
To investigate the innate capacity for language creation in children.
To explore the evolutionary origins of language.

Main Methods:

Applied a new formal analysis to characterize statistical profiles of grammatical rules.
Analyzed homesign data using this formal analysis.
Compared homesign grammar to caregiver speech and child language data.

Main Results:

Homesign was characterized as having a productive grammar.
Children's language acquisition is consistent with productive grammar, not rote memorization.
This formal analysis provides a method to assess grammatical productivity.

Conclusions:

Children can create combinatorial linguistic systems without external input.
Homesign demonstrates the innate ability to develop language structure.
Findings offer insights into the biological evolution of human language capacity.