A new study led by the Hebrew University reveals a process that is often neglected in language learning: children often begin by understanding complete sentences and only then recognize their separate components
A new study led by Prof. Inbal Arnon from the Department of Psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in collaboration with Prof. Susan Goldin-Meadow from the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago, reveals new insights into how children learn language. Traditionally, it has been assumed that children approach language by building large structures, such as words and sentences, from smaller units, such as syllables. However, Prof. Arnon's previous work highlights another important process: children sometimes start with complete sentences and later recognize the parts within them. In this paper, the researchers show this process among children who are not exposed to linguistic input: something that challenges the idea that children's approach to language is shaped only by the fragmented or non-fragmented nature of the language input. Instead, the findings suggest that children may have a natural inclination toward holistic learning, which helps them acquire language in diverse ways.
Language learning in the "home language"
The researchers studied this process by focusing on "home language users" – deaf children who are not exposed to spoken language or sign language, and who develop their own gestural communication systems. Home language systems share many characteristics with natural languages, but they develop independently and without a traditional language model. The study revealed that home language users initially use gestures to represent whole meanings, without breaking them down into separate components, such as hand shapes or certain movements. Over time, these children begin to analyze these whole gestures, producing small meaningful parts that can be recombined to convey complex meanings. Remarkably, this whole-to-detail learning occurred even in the absence of linguistic input, which usually encourages children to analyze language structures.
"Our findings indicate that the children not only react to their environment, but may arrive with a built-in preference for certain ways of language learning, including the ability to start with broad meanings and discover parts later," explains Prof. Arnon. "This has important implications for understanding the flexibility and durability of language learning in different contexts. Children's ability to grasp language by moving from the whole to the details may serve early communicative needs, allowing them to convey complex ideas before developing more complex structures."
Nicaraguan sign language develops from the whole to the components
The research findings suggest that learning a language from the whole to the details is not just a substitute for situations where the language input is difficult to break down; It is actually an attitude that the children bring with them to communication. This insight has broad implications, from understanding how languages develop and adapt over generations to examining the stages of development of emerging sign languages, such as the Nicaraguan sign language, which also shows a transition from holistic forms to more disjointed and integrated components.
Prof. Arnon and Prof. Goldin-Meadow's research offers a new perspective on language acquisition, and emphasizes that children may begin with holistic expressions and gradually develop the ability to analyze and combine components. This approach emphasizes the suitability of human language in a variety of contexts, from spoken languages to home language systems and beyond.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
