The Onset of Language

Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 4
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Figures......Page 8
Tables......Page 11
Acknowledgements......Page 13
1 Introduction......Page 15
A primate behaviorist’s view of language acquisition......Page 16
Implications and limits of the traditional ethological approach to communication......Page 18
Discrepancy between ethologists’ traditional view and linguists’ view of human speech......Page 20
Methodological characteristics of ethology in investigating nonhuman primate vocalizations......Page 23
Contextual analysis......Page 24
Sorting techniques......Page 25
Playback technique......Page 26
Methodological advantages of ethology in investigating human language development......Page 28
Advantages of an evolutionary view on language......Page 29
Population variability......Page 32
Localization variability......Page 33
“Phonetic-like” variability......Page 34
The ethological perspective on the evolution of vocal communication in primates......Page 35
Combining ethological data and dynamic system approaches to the development of action......Page 39
2 The development of the ability to take turns......Page 41
Turn-taking abilities of squirrel monkeys living in a captive group......Page 42
Flexibility of turn-taking in free-ranging Japanese macaques......Page 48
Flexibility in the acoustical features of coos and their usage......Page 52
The coevolution of neocortex size, group size and rudimentary forms of language in primates......Page 56
Contingency awareness in infants......Page 58
The functional significance of vocal response bursts in non-contingent circumstances......Page 61
Developmental precursors of vocal turn-taking......Page 66
The communicative function of “first cooing”......Page 72
A dynamic view of the development of turn-taking......Page 75
Developmental change in the vocal apparatus......Page 78
The effects of contingent stimulation on the quality of infant vocalizations......Page 80
Why the human vocal system changes around three months of age......Page 83
Evolution of the uniqueness of speech in humans......Page 86
The role of selective reinforcement......Page 88
Cross-cultural universality of adults’ preferences for infant vocalizations......Page 91
Cultural-specificity of preference of infant behavior......Page 94
Selective reinforcement of manual action......Page 96
Perception of affordance in infant behavior......Page 97
The assumption of attunement in the perception of infant affordances......Page 100
The phylogenetic origin of adult preferences......Page 102
Perception of infant behavior without awareness......Page 104
A dynamic account of early learning in cooing......Page 107
4 The development of vocal imitation......Page 111
Evidence for vocal imitation in nonhuman primates......Page 112
Vocal matching by Japanese macaques......Page 113
Analyzing imitation in human infants......Page 118
Acoustic relationships for prosodic features in infant-initiated interactions......Page 121
Acoustic relationships for segmental features in infant-initiated interactions......Page 125
Acoustic relationships for prosodic features in mother-initiated interactions......Page 127
Acoustic relationships for phonetic features with mother-initiated interactions......Page 129
Relationship between rates of misclassification for infant- versus mother-initiated interactions......Page 131
Effects of maternal echoic responding on the development of infant imitation......Page 135
A dynamic view of the development of vocal imitation......Page 137
Antecedents of motherese in nonhuman primates......Page 140
The importance of prosodic modification in infant-directed speech......Page 143
Affective role of infant-directed speech......Page 146
Possible predispositions for perceptual sensitivity in infant-directed speech and singing......Page 149
Are prosodic features of infant-directed speech or song universal across cultures?......Page 151
Women’s experience with siblings as a variable relating to individual differences in child-directed speech......Page 152
The lack of evidence for motherese as an emotional indicator......Page 155
Context-sensitive properties of infant-directed speech......Page 157
Implications of infant-directed speech for the acquisition of voluntary use of pitch contours in preverbal vocalizations......Page 159
Phonetic features of infant-directed speech......Page 163
The facilitating effects of infant-directed speech on infants’ learning about causal relationships......Page 165
Possible variables producing different styles of maternal speech......Page 168
The development of crying as the earliest rhythmic vocal behavior......Page 171
The emergence of laughter......Page 175
Phylogenetic antecedents of human laughter......Page 178
Continuities between the ontogeny of laughter and the onset of babbling......Page 181
The functional significance of co-occurrences between marginal babbling and hand banging......Page 192
A dynamic view of rhythmic vocal production......Page 194
Ontogenetic changes in infant locomotor movements......Page 197
Individuality in laughter as a manifestation of intrinsic dynamics......Page 199
7 Earliest language development in sign language......Page 202
The significance of research on sign language acquisition......Page 203
Preliminary studies of signed motherese......Page 205
Characteristics of deaf mothers’ signs when interacting with their deaf infants......Page 206
Perception of sign motherese......Page 211
The emergence of manual babbling......Page 215
The development of deaf infants’ intentional use of sign space......Page 219
Individual-specific transitions to babbling......Page 222
Individual specificity of intrinsic dynamics......Page 225
Continuities between manual babbling and the first signs......Page 227
Implications of pattern perception of the speech stream......Page 231
Characteristics of infants’ music perception......Page 234
Development of the recognition of words in native language......Page 238
Development of phonemic discrimination......Page 240
Two different paths to the first words......Page 242
Development of pointing as a referential gesture......Page 246
The relationship between the development of pointing and the development of the early lexicon in infants......Page 250
The relationship between cognitive and motor aspects of language development......Page 255
A possible explanation for the conventional “missing link” in the early cognitive development underlying language acquisition......Page 256
Combining a dynamic systems approach with the notion of direct perception......Page 260
References......Page 264
Index......Page 287