Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Hypothesis: Accept or Fail to Reject?01:17

Hypothesis: Accept or Fail to Reject?

27.5K
The outcome of any hypothesis testing leads to rejecting or not rejecting the null hypothesis. This decision is taken based on the analysis of the data, an appropriate test statistic, an appropriate confidence level, the critical values, and P-values. However, when the evidence suggests that the null hypothesis cannot be rejected, is it right to say, 'Accept' the null hypothesis?
There are two ways to indicate that the null hypothesis is not rejected. 'Accept' the null...
27.5K
Language01:16

Language

188
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...
188
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

233
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.
233
Language Development01:22

Language Development

307
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...
307
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

317
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.
317
The Nativist Approach01:21

The Nativist Approach

33
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...
33

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Looking Behind vs. Front to Follow Points: The Longitudinal Link between Maternal Pointing and Infant Vocabulary Development.

Journal of child language·2026
Same author

A corpus approach to orthographic chunking: near-naive word separation in Swiss German text messages.

Corpus linguistics and linguistic theory·2026
Same author

The Agent Preference in Ontogeny: Predictability of Agent and Patient Roles in Child-Directed Utterances Across Languages.

Cognitive science·2026
Same author

Language-Invariant Strategies of Navigating Transitions in Joint Activities: Forms and Functions of Coordination Markers.

Cognitive science·2025
Same author

Infants' background television exposure and maternal language input: A home observation study.

Journal of child language·2025
Same author

The road to negation: A comparative study of five typologically and culturally diverse languages.

First language·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 4, 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

6.1K

Negation in First Language Acquisition: Universal or Language-Specific?

Sakine Çabuk-Ballı1, Jekaterina Mazara1, Aylin C Küntay2

  • 1Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich.

Cognitive Science
|February 24, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Children universally acquire negation by shifting from simple to complex forms, influenced by language input frequency and grammatical features. This cross-linguistic study highlights universal patterns and language-specific variations in first language acquisition.

Keywords:
Cross‐linguisticFrequencyLanguage acquisitionNegationSalienceTypology

More Related Videos

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
06:07

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

8.3K
Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning
05:33

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Published on: January 29, 2020

5.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 4, 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

6.1K
Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
06:07

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

8.3K
Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning
05:33

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Published on: January 29, 2020

5.8K

Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Psycholinguistics

Background:

  • Negation is a fundamental aspect of human language, crucial for categorization and communication.
  • Languages exhibit significant diversity in expressing negation, yet its impact on acquisition remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the influence of universal versus language-specific cues on first language acquisition of negation.
  • To determine how frequency and salience features impact negation acquisition.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of naturalistic longitudinal data from 17 children (24-36 months) acquiring nine diverse languages.
  • Examined frequency, morphosyntactic boundedness, position of negation marker, and allomorphy.

Main Results:

  • Child-directed negation input varies significantly across cultures.
  • Children universally progress from free to bound negators.
  • Frequency and morphosyntactic boundedness explain acquisition flexibility across languages.

Conclusions:

  • The acquisition of negation follows a universal developmental path, transitioning from salient to less salient forms.
  • Language acquisition is shaped by an interplay of universal factors (frequency, boundedness) and language-specific parameters (marker position, allomorphy).
  • Cross-linguistic variation in acquisition reflects cultural differences in language input.