Developmental psychology.pdf

Cognition and Language 209
language. Similarly, children say "digged" and "goed" and so forth, which would be
correct if the verbs were not irregular (Brown, 1973a).
An inherited predisposition also is argued on the basis of the speed of language
learning. Normal children acquire significant proficiency in English, Spanish, or Bossa
by four or five years of age, as do children learning other languages throughout the
world. Even children of low intelligence, unless they are markedly retarded, become
adept at language, and children from deprived environments, provided the deprivation
is not unusually long or severe, can readily make up for the lack of practice and opportunities
for learning language (Mason, 1942). Congenially deaf children, without
auditory feedback, coo and babble at the same age as children with hearing, and they
learn to communicate through writing, gestures, and speech.
Although not all linguists accept this view, many argue that the propensity
for language is so deeply ingrained that it develops even under conditions of peripheral
and central nervous system impairment. Our tendency to speak a language is the result
of a biological "program" for such behavior. It is as fundamental in our constitution
as our predisposition to use our hands for manipulating things (Lenneberg, 1964).
Early Vocalizations This view, that human beings have a genetically determined
predisposition to speak in certain ways, rather than merely the ability to do so, is further
supported by studies of the sequence of language learning. This learning takes place
in a highly predictable series of stages. The stages are not clearly separated and the
rate of change is not universal, but the sequence is essentially the same for all normal
children.
The first vocalizations include crying, gurgling, and a few other noises, but
when contented, the infant also emits noises that sound like cooing. This unpatterned
cooing is simply a reflex emission of air through the vocal cords. The infant's speech
mechanisms continue to mature during this state, perhaps partly as a result of this
vocal activity.
The infant hears these sounds and through the muscular involvement probably
senses the motor aspects as well. This auditory and kinesthetic feedback may be further
reinforcing, as a form of self-stimulation.
Around the fifth month there is a gradual transition from cooing to babbling,
in which a particular sound is repeated consistently, as in "da-da-da-da" and "lal-lallal-lal."
This behavior represents greater control over the speech mechanisms than the
earlier unpatterned cooing, which has little apparent relation to human language. These
babbling noises initially include all the important sounds in all adult speech. European,
American, Asiatic, and other babies cannot be distinguished on this basis. Later, the
French baby learns certain vowel sounds, the Spanish baby a rolling r, and the Norwegian
baby gutteral noises, none of which can be accurately reproduced by people
who have not learned the language in childhood.
Babbling, in fact, appears to be a necessary prelude to speech. Organisms that
do not engage in this activity generally do not develop speech. On this basis, as well
as others, the outlook for speech in chimpanzees and similar primates is bleak.
Producing Language
Before the end of the first year, the typical human baby begins to distinguish the meaningful
phonemes in its language. Since these phonemes almost always appear in words,
this stage is known as word recognition, and it consistently appears before the production
of language. Gradually, the baby learns intonations, more words, and phrases.
This learning continues for several weeks or months as a prelude to the production of
language in the child. The test of the capacity of the child's black box, of course, lies
in its response to a given situation. If the infant avoids things said to be hot, word
recognition has occurred, even though the infant may not use any special sound to
indicate that something is hot (Figure 8.6).
Months of
Training
2
4
5
6
9
Distinct Responses
Chimp
7
14
21
28
58
Child
2
8
20
32
68
Figure 8.6
Word Recognition. In one
investigation the chimpanzee Gua
and the child Donald were reared like
sister and brother for almost a year.
At first the chimp was superior in
word recognition, responding to such
commands as, "Get up on the chair."
Donald's early inferiority might be
explained on the basis of less
physical ability, and by the end of the
research he was clearly ahead of his
sister. Here he responds to the
command, "Take Gua's hand"
(Kellogg & Kellogg, 1967).