title: Language acquisition: the new synthesis.
abstract: Developments concerning the nature of language have taken place in the disparate disciplines of linguistics, ethology and neurology. It is not widely known that these developments have brought these fields of study into accord, and have helped clarify the mechanism of language acquisition in childhood. They carry practical implications important to the teaching of language and to the understanding of language disabilities. The conclusions have also led to the discovery of cranial vault asymmetries which promise insight into the evolution of language in man's prehistory. The learning of language has become better understood as a result of recent developments in the fields of linguistics, ethology and comparative neurology.
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D003071:Cognition; D000882:Haplorhini / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D010163:Paleontology; D002679:Pan troglodytes