Language universals at birth

Gómez, David M.; Berent, Iris; Benavides-Varela, Silvia; Bion, Ricardo Augusto Hoffmann; Cattarossi, Luigi; Nespor, Marina; Mehler, Jacques

doi:10.1073/pnas.1318261111

Cited by 87 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…It is also unlikely that the effects reported here are solely due to participants' phonological experience with Mandarin or with English-their second language. While our present results from adult Mandarin speakers cannot rule out the contribution of those factors, it is nonetheless interesting to note that similar sensitivity to the onset hierarchy obtains even in neonates (Gómez et al 2014). Whether the onset hierarchy is due to linguistic constraints, and whether those constraints are truly universal are questions awaiting further research.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…Contrary to the motor account, ill-formed syllables disengage the articulatory system ; and their misidentification persists even when articulatory motor system is suppressed by Transcrnial Magnetic Stimulation (Berent et al 2015). Moreover, the results obtain with speakers of various languages (English: Berent et al 2007;French: Maïonchi-Pino et al 2012;Korean: Berent et al 2008;Spanish: Berent et al 2012a, b) and despite minimal linguistic and articulatory experience-in the brains of neonates (Gómez et al 2014). These results are in line with the possibility that speakers share universal restrictions on syllable structure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Universal Restrictions on Syllable Structure: Evidence From Mandarin Chinese

Zhao

Berent

2015

J Psycholinguist Res

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Across languages, certain onset clusters are systematically preferred (e.g., [Formula: see text], "[Formula: see text]" indicates preference), and speakers extend these preferences even to onsets that are unattested in their language. All such demonstrations, however, come from cluster-rich languages, so the observed preferences could reflect not universal linguistic restrictions but lexical analogy. To address this possibility, here, we turn to Mandarin Chinese-a cluster-poor language. We reasoned that, if people are sensitive to the onset hierarchy, then they should repair ill-formed onsets as better-formed ones [Formula: see text]-the worse formed the onset, the more likely its repair, hence, its misidentification. Results were consistent with this hypothesis, and they obtained irrespective of participants' experience with their second language (English). Nonetheless, the effect of syllable structure was strongly modulated by phonetic cues and task demands. These findings suggest that speakers might share broad phonological restrictions, but phonetic factors play a major role in their detection.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 59%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Universal Restrictions on Syllable Structure: Evidence From Mandarin Chinese

Zhao

Berent

2015

J Psycholinguist Res

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“…In line with this possibility, past research has shown that people's sensitivity to the syllable hierarchy is unlikely to result only from linguistic experience [similar results obtain in neonates (27) and in adult Korean speakers whose language lacks onset clusters altogether (4)]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Across languages, certain syllable types (e.g., blog) are overrepresented relative to others (e.g., lbog), and preferred syllables are more readily identified by individual speakers-both adults (14,(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) and infants (27). However, whether such preferences Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of the motor system in language knowledge

Berent

Brem

Zhao

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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All spoken languages express words by sound patterns, and certain patterns (e.g., blog) are systematically preferred to others (e.g., lbog). What principles account for such preferences: does the language system encode abstract rules banning syllables like lbog, or does their dislike reflect the increased motor demands associated with speech production? More generally, we ask whether linguistic knowledge is fully embodied or whether some linguistic principles could potentially be abstract. To address this question, here we gauge the sensitivity of English speakers to the putative universal syllable hierarchy (e.g., blif≻bnif≻bdif≻lbif) while undergoing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the cortical motor representation of the left orbicularis oris muscle. If syllable preferences reflect motor simulation, then worse-formed syllables (e.g., lbif) should (i) elicit more errors; (ii) engage more strongly motor brain areas; and (iii) elicit stronger effects of TMS on these motor regions. In line with the motor account, we found that repetitive TMS pulses impaired participants' global sensitivity to the number of syllables, and functional MRI confirmed that the cortical stimulation site was sensitive to the syllable hierarchy. Contrary to the motor account, however, ill-formed syllables were least likely to engage the lip sensorimotor area and they were least impaired by TMS. Results suggest that speech perception automatically triggers motor action, but this effect is not causally linked to the computation of linguistic structure. We conclude that the language and motor systems are intimately linked, yet distinct. Language is designed to optimize motor action, but its knowledge includes principles that are disembodied and potentially abstract.any animal species communicate using vocal patterns, and humans are no exception. Every hearing human community preferentially expresses words by oral patterns (1). Speech sounds, such as d,o,g give rise to contrasting patterns (e.g., dog vs. god), and certain speech patterns are systematically preferred to others. Syllables like blog, for instance, are more frequent across languages than lbog (2). Behavioral experiments further demonstrate similar preferences among individual speakers despite no experience with either syllable type (3)(4)(5)(6).Although such facts demonstrate that the sound patterns of language are systematically constrained, the nature of such constraints remains unknown. One explanation invokes universal linguistic constraints on the sound structure of language (7). However, in an alternative account, these patterns are thought to reflect motor, rather than linguistic, constraints caused by their embodiment in the motor system of speech (8-11). Indeed, the speech patterns that are attested across spoken languages are not arbitrary, and frequent patterns tend to optimize speech production (12). Such observations open up the possibility that the so-called "language universals" are action based. In this view, the encoding of a speech stimulus engages ...

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“…There is evidence to suggest that prenatal exposure to the maternal voice and heartbeat sounds can pave the neural pathways in the brain for subsequent development of hearing and language skills (14). For example, the periodic perception of the low-frequency maternal heartbeat in the womb provides the fetus with an important rhythmic experience (15,16) that likely establishes the neural basis for auditory entrainment and synchrony skills necessary for vocal, gestural, and gaze communication during mother-infant interactions (17,18).…”

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confidence: 99%

Mother’s voice and heartbeat sounds elicit auditory plasticity in the human brain before full gestation

Webb¹,

Heller

Benson

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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106

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Brain development is largely shaped by early sensory experience. However, it is currently unknown whether, how early, and to what extent the newborn's brain is shaped by exposure to maternal sounds when the brain is most sensitive to early life programming. The present study examined this question in 40 infants born extremely prematurely (between 25-and 32-wk gestation) in the first month of life. Newborns were randomized to receive auditory enrichment in the form of audio recordings of maternal sounds (including their mother's voice and heartbeat) or routine exposure to hospital environmental noise. The groups were otherwise medically and demographically comparable. Cranial ultrasonography measurements were obtained at 30 ± 3 d of life. Results show that newborns exposed to maternal sounds had a significantly larger auditory cortex (AC) bilaterally compared with control newborns receiving standard care. The magnitude of the right and left AC thickness was significantly correlated with gestational age but not with the duration of sound exposure. Measurements of head circumference and the widths of the frontal horn (FH) and the corpus callosum (CC) were not significantly different between the two groups. This study provides evidence for experience-dependent plasticity in the primary AC before the brain has reached full-term maturation. Our results demonstrate that despite the immaturity of the auditory pathways, the AC is more adaptive to maternal sounds than environmental noise. Further studies are needed to better understand the neural processes underlying this early brain plasticity and its functional implications for future hearing and language development. auditory | brain | mother's voice | heartbeat | preterm newborns

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Language universals at birth

Cited by 87 publications

References 39 publications

Universal Restrictions on Syllable Structure: Evidence From Mandarin Chinese

Universal Restrictions on Syllable Structure: Evidence From Mandarin Chinese

Role of the motor system in language knowledge

Mother’s voice and heartbeat sounds elicit auditory plasticity in the human brain before full gestation

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