Statistical evidence that a child can create a combinatorial linguistic system without external linguistic input: Implications for language evolution

NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS

卷:81

Article; Proceedings Paper

Goldin-Meadow, Susan^1,2  Yang, Charles^3,4 

[1] Univ Chicago, Dept Psychol, 5848 South Univ Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA

[2] Univ Chicago, Dept Comparat Human Dev, 5848 South Univ Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA

[3] Univ Penn, Dept Linguist, 619 Williams Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19081 USA

[4] Univ Penn, Dept Comp Sci, 619 Williams Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19081 USA

关键词: Language development;    Computational linguistics;    Linguistic input;    Homesign;    Sign language;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.016

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Can a child who is not exposed to a model for language nevertheless construct a communication system characterized by combinatorial structure? We know that deaf children whose hearing losses prevent them from acquiring spoken language, and whose hearing parents have not exposed them to sign language, use gestures, called homesigns, to communicate. In this study, we call upon a new formal analysis that characterizes the statistical profile of grammatical rules and, when applied to child language data, finds that young children's language is consistent with a productive grammar rather than rote memorization of specific word combinations in caregiver speech. We apply this formal analysis to homesign, and find that homesign can also be characterized as having productive grammar. Our findings thus provide evidence that a child can create a combinatorial linguistic system without external linguistic input, and offer unique insight into how the capacity of language evolved as part of human biology. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free