title: Learning and representation in speech and language.
abstract: Infants learn language with remarkable speed. By the end of their second year they speak in sentences with an 'accent' typical of a native speaker. How does an individual acquire a specific language? While acknowledging the biological preparation for language, this review focuses on the effects of early language experience on infants' perceptual and perceptual-motor systems. The data show that by the time infants begin to master the higher levels of language--sound-meaning correspondences, contrastive phonology, and grammatical rules--their perceptual and perceptual-motor systems are already tuned to a specific language. The consequences of this are described in a developmental theory at the phonetic level that holds promise for higher levels of language.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Kuhl
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007802:Language; D007804:Language Development; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D010700:Phonetics; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology