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Related Concept Videos

Language Development01:22

Language Development

468
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...
468
The Nativist Approach01:21

The Nativist Approach

155
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...
155
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

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The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
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Piaget's Stage 2 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 2 of Cognitive Development

258
The preoperational stage, the second of Jean Piaget's four stages of cognitive development, spans approximately ages 2 to 7 and is characterized by the emergence of symbolic thinking. During this stage, children use language, images, and symbols to represent objects and concepts, enabling them to engage in imaginative and pretend play. This symbolic thinking supports children's ability to perform make-believe actions, such as imagining a broom as a horse or their hand as a phone, blending...
258
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

442
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.
442
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

469
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.
469

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Emergent Morphology in Child Homesign: Evidence from Number Language.

Natasha Abner1, Savithry Namboodiripad1, Elizabet Spaepen2

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Deaf children developing homesign systems spontaneously create number inflection, a complex grammatical pattern. This shows language structure can emerge without conventional language input.

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Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Human languages rely on associating forms with meanings through structural patterns like morphology.
  • Paradigmatic morphology involves building complex words from reusable sub-lexical units.
  • Homesign systems are communication methods developed by deaf children without conventional language input.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate emergent paradigmatic morphology in homesign systems.
  • To examine how homesigners express number information.
  • To determine if number inflection-like structures appear in homesign.

Main Methods:

  • Studied the communication systems of four deaf child homesigners (mean age 8;02).
  • Analyzed the use of handshape and movement in expressing number.
  • Examined the combination of number markers with representational and deictic gestures.

Main Results:

  • All four homesigners productively used handshape and movement to express cardinal and non-cardinal number information.
  • Number expressions were consistent in form and meaning across homesigners.
  • Homesigners systematically combined number markers with gestures (predicates and nominals) to form complex expressions.

Conclusions:

  • Evidence of emergent paradigmatic morphology, akin to number inflection, was found in homesign.
  • This demonstrates that complex inflectional morphology can arise spontaneously in communication systems.
  • The findings expand understanding of language structure independent of conventional linguistic input.