The neural and linguistic basis of language development

摘要

The acquisition and development of language is amongst the most fascinating accomplishments in humans. Thus, it is not surprising that language acquisition and language development bring together researchers from various disciplines: Linguists are interested in comprehending the grammar of language (i.e., its structure, sound, and meaning), while cognitive and developmental psychologists aim at describing the cognitive processes underlying this complex system and their development during childhood. Neuroscientists strive to understand the neural basis of this complex cognitive ability. Lastly, for clinical researchers language acquisition is a well accessible outcome measure in the context of various neurodevelopmental conditions.