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Perceptual-motor constraints on sound-to-meaning correspondence in language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2008

Laura L. Namy
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322. lnamy@emory.eduhttp://www.psychology.emory.edu/cognition/namy/index.htmllnygaar@emory.eduhttp://www.psychology.emory.edu/cognition/nygaard/index.html
Lynne C. Nygaard
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322. lnamy@emory.eduhttp://www.psychology.emory.edu/cognition/namy/index.htmllnygaar@emory.eduhttp://www.psychology.emory.edu/cognition/nygaard/index.html

Abstract

The proposal that language has evolved to conform to general cognitive and learning constraints inherent in the human brain calls for specification of these mechanisms. We propose that just as cognition appears to be grounded in cross-modal perceptual-motor capabilities, so too must language. Evidence for perceptual-motor grounding comes from non-arbitrary sound-to-meaning correspondences and their role in word learning.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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