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Cited by 773Language Development and DisordersPhonetics and Phonology ResearchCategorization, perception, and language

A new view of language acquisition

Open access
Kuhl, Patricia K.·2000·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.97.22.11850PMC PMC34178
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Abstract

At the forefront of debates on language are new data demonstrating infants' early acquisition of information about their native language. The data show that infants perceptually “map” critical aspects of ambient language in the first year of life before they can speak. Statistical properties of speech are picked up through exposure to ambient language. Moreover, linguistic experience alters infants' perception of speech, warping perception in the service of language. Infants' strategies are unexpected and unpredicted by historical views. A new theoretical position has emerged, and six postulates of this position are described.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Kuhl proposes a new view of language acquisition in which infants map ambient language through pattern detection, statistical learning, and experience-driven perceptual warping, rather than Skinnerian reinforcement or Chomskyan selection of innate universal grammar/phonetics. Six postulates are offered, including that motherese is instructive and that the critical period depends on neural commitment from experience, not just time.

Key findings

  • Infants initially parse phonetic units universally, but this capacity is not speech-specific or species-specific: categorical perception occurs in infants and animals and for nonspeech stimuli; by 12 months infants no longer discriminate non-native phonetic contrasts even though they did so at 6 months.
  • Infants exploit statistical properties of speech: 7-month-olds discriminated target syllables better when the transitional probability between /ko/ and /ga/ was 1.0 than when it was reduced to 0.3; 8-month-olds listened longer to new pseudowords formed from parts of original words, indicating statistical word segmentation.
  • Language experience warps perception: 6-month-old US and Swedish infants showed the perceptual magnet effect only for native vowel prototypes; Japanese listeners’ multidimensional scaling map for /r-l/ showed no magnet or boundary effects, unlike American listeners.
  • Vocal imitation and motherese are linked to learning: by 20 weeks infants clearly imitate /a/, /i/, and /u/ with appropriate relative formant values; infant-directed speech exaggerates vowels in the US, Russia, and Sweden; six tenets include that the critical period is influenced by neural commitment resulting from experience.

Methods

  • Theoretical review/colloquium paper, not a new empirical study; it synthesizes behavioral, brain, comparative, and cross-linguistic infant studies.
  • No new sample is reported; cited experiments include infants at ages such as 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12 months and 12–20 weeks, plus adults and nonhuman animals.
  • Main analysis is narrative synthesis and proposal of six postulates and the Native Language Magnet model; no primary statistical analysis is reported.

Limitations

  • Stated: further tests are needed to determine the constraints on categorization, statistical learning, and prototype effects in infants using linguistic and nonlinguistic events; whether constraints for physical objects and speech are identical or different “remains to be examined”; animal/human differences “can be resolved with empirical tests.”
  • Evident: as a review, it reports no new experimental data or formal meta-analysis, so conclusions rest on cited studies; some claims, such as bilingual separation effects, are described as anecdotal or hypothetical.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.97.22.11850

Cites

120 of 120 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

0 of 88 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingcitation
    § Abstract

    Infants' vowels have appropriate formant frequency values in relation to one another, even though infants' vowels occur in a much higher frequency range.

    “At this age, infants clearly imitate the model, and their vowels have appropriate formant frequency values in relation to one another, even though infants' vowels occur in a much higher frequency range (93).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [93] Kuhl P K, Meltzoff A N. J Acoust Soc Am. 1996;100:2425–2438. doi: 10.1121/1.417951. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Findingcitation
    § Abstract

    At 20 weeks, infants clearly imitate the model.

    “At this age, infants clearly imitate the model, and their vowels have appropriate formant frequency values in relation to one another, even though infants' vowels occur in a much higher frequency range (93).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [93] Kuhl P K, Meltzoff A N. J Acoust Soc Am. 1996;100:2425–2438. doi: 10.1121/1.417951. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Findingown data
    § Abstract

    Infant-directed speech is altered at the phonetic level.

    “Infant-directed speech also is altered at the phonetic level and these alterations are argued to help infants learn.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingcitation
    § Abstract

    The phonetic units of infant-directed speech are acoustically exaggerated.

    “The results demonstrated that the phonetic units of infant-directed speech are acoustically exaggerated.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [106] Kuhl P K, Andruski J E, Chistovich I A, Chistovich L A, Kozhevnikova E V, Ryskina V L, Stolyarova E I, Sundberg U, Lacerda F. Science. 1997;277:684–686. doi: 10.1126/science.277.5326.684. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Findingown data
    § Abstract

    The results show a stretching of the acoustic space encompassing speech.

    “The results show a stretching of the acoustic space encompassing speech (Fig. 8).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • May combine two claims. 22
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 7

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation
    § Abstract

    In the Kuhl and Meltzoff study, results demonstrate developmental change between 12 and 20 weeks; by 20 weeks, there is clear separation between the three vowel categories for infants.

    “The results demonstrate developmental change between 12 and 20 weeks—by 20 weeks, there is clear separation between the three vowel categories for infants (Fig. 7).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    Adults discriminate phonetic units that cross the phonetic boundary between categories but not stimuli that fall within a category.

    “Adults discriminated phonetic units that crossed the “phonetic boundary” between categories but not stimuli that fell within a category.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [10] Liberman A M, Cooper F S, Shankweiler D P, Studdert-Kennedy M. Psychol Rev. 1967;74:431–461. doi: 10.1037/h0020279. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premiseown data
    § Abstract

    The kind of partitioning seen for speech is not limited to humans or limited to speech.

    “Interestingly, however, the data also demonstrated that the kind of partitioning seen for speech is not limited to humans or limited to speech.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    By 12 months of age, infants no longer discriminate non-native phonetic contrasts, even though they did so at 6 months of age.

    “Werker and her colleagues demonstrated that, by 12 months of age, infants no longer discriminate non-native phonetic contrasts, even though they did so at 6 months of age (31).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [31] Werker J F, Tees R C. Inf Behav Dev. 1984;7:49–63. [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationown data
    § Abstract

    Infants' learning strategies are unexpected and unpredicted by historical views.

    “Infants' strategies are unexpected and unpredicted by historical views.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    The categorical perception phenomenon is language-specific; Japanese adults failed to show a peak in discrimination at the phonetic boundary of an American English /ra-la/ series.

    “The phenomenon was language-specific; Japanese adults, for example, failed to show a peak in discrimination at the phonetic boundary of an American English/ra-la/series (as in “rake” vs. “lake”) (11).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [11] Miyawaki K, Strange W, Verbrugge R, Liberman A M, Jenkins J J, Fujimura O. Percept Psychophys. 1975;18:331–340. [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    Research on cognitive development confirms that categorization, statistical learning, and prototype effects are not unique to speech.

    “Research on cognitive development confirms the fact that categorization (83), statistical learning (84), and prototype effects (85) are not unique to speech.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites [83] Younger B A, Cohen L B. In: The Psychology of Learning and Motivation. Bower G H, editor. Vol. 19. San Diego: Academic; 1985. pp. 211–247. [Google Scholar]

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [84] Saffran J R, Johnson E K, Aslin R N, Newport E L. Cognition. 1999;70:27–52. doi: 10.1016/s0010-0277(98)00075-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [85] Quinn P C, Eimas P D. J Exp Child Psychol. 1998;69:151–174. doi: 10.1006/jecp.1998.2443. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Abstract

    The two systems are tightly coupled early on, but the coupling is a coregistration of auditory and motor information, a polymodal mapping, rather than one in which the representation is specified in motor terms.

    “The two systems are thus tightly coupled early on, but the coupling is seen as a coregistration of auditory and motor information, a polymodal mapping, rather than one in which the representation is specified in motor terms.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    Perceptual experience that guides sensory-motor learning is also seen in infants' imitation of nonspeech oral movements and in sign language.

    “Perceptual experience that guides sensory-motor learning also is seen in infants' imitation of nonspeech oral movements (94, 95) and in sign language (96).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites [94] Meltzoff A N, Moore M K. Early Dev Parent. 1977;6:179–192. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0917(199709/12)6:3/4<179::AID-EDP157>3.0.CO;2-R. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [95] Meltzoff A N, Moore M K. Inf Behav Dev. 1994;17:83–99. doi: 10.1016/0163-6383(94)90024-8. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [96] Petitto L A, Marentette P F. Science. 1991;251:1493–1496. doi: 10.1126/science.2006424. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationcitation
    § Abstract

    The Native Language Magnet model proposes that infants' mapping of ambient language warps the acoustic dimensions underlying speech, producing a complex network, or filter, through which language is perceived.

    “A model reflecting this developmental sequence from universal perception to language-specific perception, called the Native Language Magnet model, proposes that infants' mapping of ambient language warps the acoustic dimensions underlying speech, producing a complex network, or filter, through which language is perceived (39, 40, 82).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites [39] Kuhl P K. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1994;4:812–822. doi: 10.1016/0959-4388(94)90128-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [40] Kuhl P K. In: The New Cognitive Neurosciences. 2nd Ed. Gazzaniga M S, editor. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 2000. pp. 99–115. [Google Scholar]

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [82] Kuhl P K. In: Mechanistic Relationships Between Development and Learning. Carew T J, Menzel R, Shatz C J, editors. New York: Wiley; 1998. pp. 53–73. [Google Scholar]

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation
    § Abstract

    This universal contouring soon gives way to a language-specific mapping that distorts perception, completely revising the perceptual space underlying speech processing.

    “This universal contouring soon gives way to a language-specific mapping that distorts perception, completely revising the perceptual space underlying speech processing (65).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [65] Kuhl P K, Williams K A, Lacerda F, Stevens K N, Lindblom B. Science. 1992;255:606–608. doi: 10.1126/science.1736364. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    Vocal learning critically depends on hearing the vocalizations of others and hearing oneself produce sound.

    “Vocal learning critically depends on hearing the vocalizations of others and hearing oneself produce sound.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    Mothers addressing infants increase the variety of exemplars they use, making mothers resemble many different talkers.

    “Mothers addressing infants also increase the variety of exemplars they use, behaving in a way that makes mothers resemble many different talkers, a feature shown to assist category learning in second-language learners (107).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [107] Lively S E, Logan J S, Pisoni D B. J Acoust Soc Am. 1993;94:1242–1255. doi: 10.1121/1.408177. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    Parents present new words in a great variety of contexts, which would highlight the internal transitional probabilities of the new words against the backdrop of a variety of contexts.

    “They also present new words in a great variety of contexts, which would highlight the internal transitional probabilities of the new words against the backdrop of a variety of contexts (58).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [58] Goodsitt J V, Morgan J L, Kuhl P K. J Child Lang. 1993;20:229–252. doi: 10.1017/s0305000900008266. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    Feedback and reinforcement are not necessary in this process; listeners simply need the right kind of listening experience.

    “These studies show that feedback and reinforcement are not necessary in this process; listeners simply need the right kind of listening experience (36, 113).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [36] McClelland J L, Thomas A, McCandliss B D, Fiez J A. In: Brain, Behavioral, and Cognitive Disorders: The Neurocomputational Perspective. Reggia J, Ruppin E, Glanzman D, editors. Oxford: Elsevier; 1999. pp. 75–80. [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [113] Pisoni D B. In: Speech Perception, Production and Linguistic Structure. Tohkura Y, Vatikiotis-Bateson E, Sagisaka Y, editors. Tokyo: Ohmsha; 1992. pp. 143–151. [Google Scholar]

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    When introducing new words, parents repeat the word often in stereotyped frames, which would highlight the items in sentence-final position.

    “When introducing new words, parents repeat the word often in sterotyped frames (“Where's the __ ,” “See the __ ,” “That's a __ ” (110), which would highlight the items in sentence-final position.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [110] Peters A M. The Units of Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press; 1983. [Google Scholar]

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given
    § Abstract

    It is easier to map two different sets of phonetic categories if they can be perceptually separated.

    “This may be the case because it is easier to map two different sets of phonetic categories (one for each of the two languages) if they can be perceptually separated.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Infants exposed to two languages do much better if each parent speaks one of the two languages, rather than both parents speaking both languages.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S1 (asserted).

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Abstract

    For Japanese people, learning to process English requires the development of a new map more appropriate for English.

    “The hypothesis is that, for Japanese people, learning to process English requires the development of a new map, one more appropriate for English.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    Adult bilinguals who acquire both languages early in life activate overlapping regions of the brain when processing the two languages, whereas those who learn the second language later in life activate two distinct regions of the brain for the two languages.

    “Data gathered by using functional MRI techniques indicate that adult bilinguals who acquire both languages early in life activate overlapping regions of the brain when processing the two languages, whereas those who learn the second language later in life activate two distinct regions of the brain for the two languages (114).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [114] Kim K H S, Relkin N R, Lee K M, Hirsch J. Nature (London) 1997;388:172–174. doi: 10.1038/40623. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Abstract

    Early in life, interference effects are minimal and two different mappings can be acquired, as in infants learning two languages.

    “Early in life, interference effects are minimal and two different mappings can be acquired, as is the case for infants learning two languages.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Abstract

    New training studies suggest that exaggerating the dimensions of foreign language contrasts and providing listeners with multiple instances spoken by many talkers are effective training methods.

    “New training studies suggest that exaggerating the dimensions of foreign language contrasts (36), as well as providing listeners with multiple instances spoken by many talkers (113), are effective training methods.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [36] McClelland J L, Thomas A, McCandliss B D, Fiez J A. In: Brain, Behavioral, and Cognitive Disorders: The Neurocomputational Perspective. Reggia J, Ruppin E, Glanzman D, editors. Oxford: Elsevier; 1999. pp. 75–80. [Google Scholar] source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [113] Pisoni D B. In: Speech Perception, Production and Linguistic Structure. Tohkura Y, Vatikiotis-Bateson E, Sagisaka Y, editors. Tokyo: Ohmsha; 1992. pp. 143–151. [Google Scholar]

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Abstract

    Exaggerating speech makes it more discriminable for infants and highlights critical parameters used in the native language.

    “Exaggerating speech not only makes it more discriminable for infants, it highlights critical parameters used in the native language.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Conclusions

    The learning strategies used by infants may themselves have influenced the nature of language, in much the same way that general auditory processing influenced the selection of phonetic units for language during its evolution.

    “The learning strategies used by infants may themselves have influenced the nature of language, in much the same way that general auditory processing influenced the selection of phonetic units for language during its evolution.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Conclusions

    Infants are neither the tabula rasas that Skinner described nor the innate grammarians that Chomsky envisioned.

    “Infants are neither the tabula rasas that Skinner described nor the innate grammarians that Chomsky envisioned.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given
    § Conclusions

    Vocal imitation links speech perception and production early, and auditory, visual, and motor information are coregistered for speech categories.

    “(iv) vocal imitation links speech perception and production early, and auditory, visual, and motor information are coregistered for speech categories;”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given
    § Conclusions

    Adults addressing infants unconsciously alter their speech to match infants' learning strategies, and this is instrumental in supporting infants' initial mapping of speech.

    “(v) adults addressing infants unconsciously alter their speech to match infants' learning strategies, and this is instrumental in supporting infants' initial mapping of speech;”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Conclusions

    Language is innately discoverable, but not innate in the way that selectionist models suggested.

    “Language is thus innately discoverable, but not innate in the way that selectionist models suggested.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
27 of 27

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Infants' performance in laboratory speech perception tasks reflects the mechanisms underlying natural language acquisition.

    “The data show that infants perceptually “map” critical aspects of ambient language in the first year of life before they can speak.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Listening preferences in infancy indicate language-specific learning.

    “American infants tested at 6 months show no listening preference for words with the strong/weak as opposed to the weak/strong pattern, but by 9 months they exhibit a strong preference for the pattern typical of their native language (55).”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The statistical learning demonstrated with artificial speech stimuli generalizes to natural language acquisition.

    “New research shows that infants detect and exploit the statistical properties of the language they hear to find word candidates in running speech before they know the meanings of words.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Children learn language more naturally and efficiently than adults.

    “There is no doubt that children learn language more naturally and efficiently than adults, a paradox given adults' superior cognitive skills.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Infants exposed to two languages do much better if each parent speaks one of the two languages, rather than both parents speaking both languages.

    “Anecdotal evidence suggests that infants exposed to two languages do much better if each parent speaks one of the two languages, rather than both parents speaking both languages.”
5 of 5

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Reference 94 has conflicting publication years

    Minor

    Reference 94 lists 1977 as its publication year, but the date encoded in its DOI is September-December 1997.

1 of 1

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 121 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. K Wexler, P W Culicover Formal Principles of Language Acquisition (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1980).
  2. K N Stevens Acoustic Phonetics (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1998).
  3. J M Pickett The Acoustics of Speech Communication (Allyn and Bacon, Boston, 1999).
  4. N Gross, P C Judge, O Port, S H Wildstrom BusinessWeek, February 23, 60–72. (1998).
  5. J F Werker An Invitation to Cognitive Science: Language, eds L R Gleitman, M Liberman (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA), pp. 87–107 (1995).
  6. P K Kuhl Child Phonology: Vol. 2. Perception, eds G H Yeni-Komshian, J F Kavanagh, C A Ferguson (Academic, New York), pp. 41–66 (1980).
  7. K H S Kim, N R Relkin, K M Lee, J Hirsch Nature (London) 388, 172–174 (1997).

Cited by

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Related

Authors
Kuhl, P. K.
Affiliations
University of Washington (US)
Corresponding author
Kuhl, Patricia K.
ORCID
Kuhl, Patricia K.
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
2000-10-24
Volume
97
Issue
22
Pages
11850-11857
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.97.22.11850
PMC
PMC34178
OpenAlex
W1972159947
Semantic Scholar
4ea6e708012a19bcd4674f1607fd1e1a03b93eaf
Cited by
773
References
121
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 31 · 2015: 53 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 34
FWCI
42.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (HD 37954)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD037954, HD37954)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Phonetics and Phonology Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Categorization, perception, and language
Keywords
language acquisition, infant speech perception, statistical learning, perceptual mapping, language experience, language bootstrapping, infant language development
MeSH terms
Animals, Haplorhini, Humans, Infant, Language Development

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