Foundations for Language Learning in the Neonatal and Early Infant Period

Historically, early infancy has been considered a prelinguistic period of development through the appearance of the first spoken word, because infant communication during the first year of life does not involve the manipulation of symbols. Nonetheless, early infancy is an essential stage in the acquisition of linguistic skills. During the last [Page 778]quarter of the 20th century, new research procedures and theoretical perspectives revealed impressive feats of learning by infants and strong threads of continuity between the infant and toddler periods with respect to language acquisition. New knowledge about infant learning during this period has had significant implications for societal norms and educational practices: Talking to babies is now culturally normative among educated parents and an accepted rehabilitative procedure for infants at risk of language ...