Nonhuman primate vocalizations support categorization in very young human infants.

ABSTRACT: Language is a signature of our species and our primary conduit for conveying the contents of our minds. The power of language derives not only from the exquisite detail of the signal itself but also from its intricate link to human cognition. To acquire a language, infants must identify which signals are part of their language and discover how these signals are linked to meaning. At birth, infants prefer listening to vocalizations of human and nonhuman primates; within 3 mo, this initially broad listening preference is tuned specifically to human vocalizations. Moreover, even at this early developmental point, human vocalizations evoke more than listening preferences alone: they engender in infants a heightened focus on the objects in their visual environment and promote the formation of o

SUBMITTER: Ferry AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3780887 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature