Language-specific effects on number computation in toddlers.
A fundamental question in developmental science is how brains with and without language compute numbers. Measuring young children's verbal reactions in France (Paris) and in England (Oxford), here we show that, although there is a general arithmetic ability for small numbers that is shared by monkeys and preverbal infants, the development of such initial knowledge in humans follows specific performance patterns, depending on what language the children speak.
Hodent
Célia
C
UMR 6194, CNRS, CEA, Universities of Caen and Paris 5 (Sorbonne), Institute of Psychology, France.
Bryant
Peter
P
Houdé
Olivier
O
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D003210:Concept Formation; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007804:Language Development; D008037:Linguistics; D008433:Mathematics; D008568:Memory; D011340:Problem Solving; D006113:United Kingdom; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014706:Verbal Learning