Publication
Title
Genetic predisposition and sensory experience in language development: Evidence from cochlear-implanted children
Author
Abstract
Recent neurobiological studies have advanced the hypothesis that language development is not continuously plastic but is governed by biological constraints that may be modified by experience within a particular time window. This hypothesis is tested based on spontaneous speech data from deaf cochlear-implanted (CI) children with access to linguistic stimuli at different developmental times. Language samples of nine children who received a CI between 5 and 19 months are analysed for linguistic measures representing different stages of language development. These include canonical babbling ratios, vocabulary diversity, and functional elements such as determiners. The results show that language development is positively related to the age at which children get first access to linguistic input and that later access to language is associated with a slower-than-normal language-learning rate. As such, the positive effect of early experience on the functional organisation of the brain in language processes is confirmed by behavioural performance.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Language and cognitive processes. - Utrecht, 1985 - 2013
Publication
Utrecht : 2011
ISSN
0169-0965 [print]
1464-0732 [online]
DOI
10.1080/01690965.2010.520540
Volume/pages
26 :8 (2011) , p. 1083-1101
ISI
000299278500004
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 27.10.2011
Last edited 04.03.2024
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