When does the Timing of Language Acquisition Matter?

Grammatical and Lexical Processing Across Languages and Modalities

Rachel I. Mayberry
Department of Linguistics
University of California , San Diego

Abstract

Models of language processing are based on the optimum circumstance for language acquisition. The infant who hears and overhears language spoken in and out of the home becomes the idealized speaker-hearer that language scientists model. Sign language research contributes to theory by showing how language processing is affected by sensory-motor modality. Sign language research further shows how the timing of linguistic input during post-natal brain growth affects adult language processing. This is because the circumstances of sign language acquisition vary enormously from the ideal case for many signers who are deaf. Here I summarize several psycholinguistic experiments designed to pinpoint age of acquisition effects on grammatical and lexical processing in ASL. In other experiments I ask whether these effects are linked to English reading skill.