Articles tagged with Psycholinguistics
A new algorithm called Automatic Distillation of Structure (ADIOS) has been developed to learn complex patterns in raw texts, including transcripts of parents' speech directed at young children. The algorithm can generate grammatical new sentences and prove useful in fields like bioinformatics.
Research by Heather Bortfeld shows that babies can discern the beginnings and endings of words that follow their names, providing a foundation for learning language. By using familiar words like their names, babies can anchor their early learning of other word forms and tap into the process at an earliest stage possible.
Researchers at Purdue University found that parts of the human brain think about prepositions in different ways when it comes to time and location. The study used language tests with stroke patients and found that words like 'on' and 'in' are processed independently, regardless of their spatial meaning.
A recent study published in Nature reveals that the brain processes Silbo Gomero, a unique whistle language used by Spanish shepherds, similarly to how it deciphers spoken languages. The researchers found that left hemisphere language regions were uniquely adapted for communicative purposes, independent of the modality of signal.
A Purdue University psychology professor's research reveals infants can comprehend words and grammar from a young age, defying the common notion of gradual learning. By analyzing infant responses to language experiments, Hollich's study shows that babies as young as 5 months old demonstrate surprising linguistic savvy.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute developed a theory to explain lexical selection and form encoding in spoken word production. The theory proposes two major processing components: lexical selection and form encoding, which can be completed within two-thirds of a second.
Bilinguals prefer their first taught language for mental arithmetic activities due to skills acquired, according to Texas A&M University research. This finding has significant educational implications, particularly in areas with high concentrations of bilingual populations.
A recent study published in Neurology has imaged language areas of the brain during recovery from stroke, providing insights into normal language processes and potential therapy optimizations. Researchers found that areas on the right side of the brain contribute to language recovery after left-side damage.
A new study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers found that high-quality childcare improves intellectual and language skills in infants and toddlers, even in those from low-income families. The study followed 89 black children in 27 U.S. care centers between ages 6 months and four years.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University discovered that infants as young as 6 months old begin to comprehend the sound patterns behind words like 'Mama' and 'Dada', forming a lexicon linked to socially significant people. This finding marks a significant milestone in understanding human language development.
Researchers found that seven-month-old infants can recognize and generalize simple language-like rules, understanding the algebra of combining words into sentences. This discovery has implications for diagnosis and treatment of language disorders in children.
Research at the University of Delaware reveals that children with Williams Syndrome may struggle to describe spatial relationships, using motion verbs less frequently and having difficulties encoding object properties and location. This cognitive deficit may be related to their impaired non-linguistic knowledge.
A new University of Delaware study explores the cognitive impacts of Williams Syndrome, revealing discrepancies in spatial and language skills. Children with Williams Syndrome exhibit extraordinary verbal skills but struggle with spatial tasks, such as replicating shapes or describing directions.
A study published in Developmental Psychology suggests that bilingual preschoolers understand written languages faster and can read sooner than their monolingual counterparts. Bilingual children recognize symbolic relations between letters and sounds, allowing them to comprehend written language without visual objects.
UCSF researchers have discovered a refinement in scientific understanding of specific language impairment, a disorder affecting 10% of children, characterized by difficulty distinguishing individual sounds. Children with the disorder require tones to be about 45 decibels more intense than normal to be heard over masking noise.
Infants as young as 8 months can recognize word patterns and distinguish them from non-word sequences based on statistical recurrence. This ability allows them to quickly learn language, contradicting the long-held assumption that language acquisition relies heavily on innate abilities.
Infants as young as 7 1/2 months old can distinguish one voice in a clutter of distracting background noise, enabling them to learn language more efficiently. This ability, known as the 'cocktail party effect,' is believed to play an important role in infants' language development by increasing the amount of information available to them.