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Language universals at birth.


ABSTRACT: The evolution of human languages is driven both by primitive biases present in the human sensorimotor systems and by cultural transmission among speakers. However, whether the design of the language faculty is further shaped by linguistic biological biases remains controversial. To address this question, we used near-infrared spectroscopy to examine whether the brain activity of neonates is sensitive to a putatively universal phonological constraint. Across languages, syllables like blif are preferred to both lbif and bdif. Newborn infants (2-5 d old) listening to these three types of syllables displayed distinct hemodynamic responses in temporal-perisylvian areas of their left hemisphere. Moreover, the oxyhemoglobin concentration changes elicited by a syllable type mirrored both the degree of its preference across languages and behavioral linguistic preferences documented experimentally in adulthood. These findings suggest that humans possess early, experience-independent, linguistic biases concerning syllable structure that shape language perception and acquisition.

SUBMITTER: Gomez DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4000834 | biostudies-other | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Language universals at birth.

Gómez David Maximiliano DM   Berent Iris I   Benavides-Varela Silvia S   Bion Ricardo A H RA   Cattarossi Luigi L   Nespor Marina M   Mehler Jacques J  

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20140331 16


The evolution of human languages is driven both by primitive biases present in the human sensorimotor systems and by cultural transmission among speakers. However, whether the design of the language faculty is further shaped by linguistic biological biases remains controversial. To address this question, we used near-infrared spectroscopy to examine whether the brain activity of neonates is sensitive to a putatively universal phonological constraint. Across languages, syllables like blif are pre  ...[more]

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