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Related Concept Videos

Language Development01:22

Language Development

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

Jenny R Saffran1

  • 1University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Child Development Perspectives
|April 29, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Infants use statistical learning to understand language, from sounds to grammar. This review explores why infants are sensitive to these patterns, linking statistical learning to prediction and uncertainty reduction.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • Infants learn language by detecting statistical patterns in auditory input.
  • This statistical learning ability spans phonetics, word segmentation, and grammatical structures.
  • Existing research highlights infants' capacity for statistical language acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the literature on infant statistical language learning.
  • To explore the underlying reasons for infants' sensitivity to statistical regularities.
  • To examine the connection between statistical learning, prediction, and uncertainty reduction in infants.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing research on infant statistical learning.
  • Theoretical analysis of the role of prediction and uncertainty reduction.
  • Synthesis of findings across various linguistic domains.

Main Results:

  • Infants demonstrate robust statistical learning across multiple linguistic levels.
  • Sensitivity to statistical regularities appears fundamental to early language acquisition.
  • Statistical learning is closely intertwined with predictive processing and minimizing uncertainty.

Conclusions:

  • Infants' statistical learning mechanisms are crucial for acquiring complex linguistic structures.
  • The drive to reduce uncertainty may underpin infants' engagement with statistical patterns in language.
  • Future research should further investigate the interplay between statistical learning and cognitive development in infancy.