PSYC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Nicaraguan Sign Language, Baby Talk, Critical Period
Document Summary
Language requires both comprehension and production abilities in order to use. Babies are comprehending well before they start producing. Generativity : finite number of parts, infinite possibilities for combination and expression. Symbol system : allows us to represent and communicate ideas and feelings to others. Nicaraguan sign language : before the special school, nicaraguan deaf people had no communal sign language. The students brought together created their own sign language! One: a growing human brain : language processing is substantially localized in the brain. Left hemisphere : sensitive to diffs in timing, speech. Critical period : the neural circuitry supporting language dev learning operates. In second language learners, the age at which individuals began learning was directly related to proficiency! The older someone started the language the worse they will always be at it, practice won"t close the gap. Language is more difficult for us after puberty differently during early development. Newborns prefer to listen to speech over regular sounds.
