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sounds (phonemes), meaning (morphemes and syntax), and the environmental factors that help
us understand it (contextual information).
Language is best learned during the critical period between 3 and 7 years of age.
Broca’s area, an area of the brain in front of the left hemisphere near the motor cortex, is
responsible for language production, and Wernicke’s area, an area of the brain next to the
auditory cortex, is responsible for language comprehension.
Children learn language quickly and naturally, progressing through stages of babbling, first
words, first sentences, and then a rapid increase in vocabulary. Children often make
overextensions of concepts.
Some theories of language learning are based on principles of learning. Noam Chomsky argues
that human brains contain a language acquisition device that includes a universal grammar that
underlies all human language and that allows generativity. Chomsky differentiates between the
deep structure and the surface structure of an idea.
Bilingualism is becoming more and more frequent in the modern world. Bilingual children may
show more cognitive function and flexibility than do monolingual children.
Nonhuman animals have a wide variety of systems of communication. But efforts to teach
animals to use human language have had only limited success. Although many animals
communicate, none of them have a true language.