3-116 - Mechanisms Implicated in Early Language Acquisition

Session Type: Paper Session

Integrative Statement

The papers in this symposium explore various mechanisms implicated in early language acquisition, from the processing of different aspects of the speech signal to the acquisition of sound pattern-object links. The first paper uses NIRS to explore the origin of prosodic grouping, providing some evidence that newborns group sounds according to the Iambic-Trochaic Law, and that these grouping abilities are modulated by the language(s) of the mother. The second paper uses HPP to explore infants ability to normalize speech, showing an emergence of this ability between 11 and 14 months of age. The third paper uses eye-tracking to investigate when infants start understanding the referential nature of language, providing such evidence by 4 months of age, The fourth paper uses gaze-contingent eyetracking to explore the social factors implicated in word learning at 12 months of age, establishing the importance of gaze-contingent, referential presentation. Taken together, these studies provide new insights into the mechanisms at play during early language acquisition.

Sub Unit

• Language, Communication

Chair

• Daniel Swingley, University of Pennsylvania

Individual Presentations

• Prosodic grouping at birth: effects of prenatal language exposure - Presenting Author: Nawal Abboub, Université Paris Descartes-CNRS; Thierry Nazzi, Université Paris Descartes-CNRS; Judit Gervain, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

• Speech rate normalization in 14-month-olds - Presenting Author: Yuanyuan Wang, Purdue University; Fernando Llanos, Purdue University; Amanda Seidl, Purdue University

• Referential expectation in infancy - Presenting Author: Hanna Marno, International School for Advanced Studies; Teresa Farroni, University of Padua, Italy; Jacques Mehler

• Twelve-month old infants show enhanced word learning in the presence of on-screen social cues - Presenting Author: Sho Tsuji, RIKEN Brain Sciences Institute; Nobuyuki Jincho, RIKEN Brain Sciences Institute; Reiko Mazuka, RIKEN Brain Science Institute