2009). Other studies had previously concluded that English infants developed a preference for trochaic words, the dominant stress construct of English words, over iambic stress patterns within the first year of life (Hohle et al. 2009). A comparison of German and Frecnh infants in four distinct experiments confirms and even narrows down the timeframe in which this differentiation of preference occurs, and also shows (through the French language experiments) that the ability to distinguish the two opposing stress patterns does not necessarily result in the development of preference, if the target language itself lacks a dominant stress structure (Hohle et al. 2009). Even at six months, a specific language begins to mediate perception.
An earlier study suggests that the timing of stress and intonation preference development is even sooner than six months. While citing evidence suggesting that language-independent phonetic contrasts and melodic variations are recognized within the first four months of life, while language-specific recognition does not begin until after six months, Frederici et al. (2007) shows (also using German and French infants) that stress recognition is definitely language specific by four months of age. Measurements of brain activity were taken that showed a clear spike when stress patterns of each infants' target language were heard, as compared to opposing stress patterns (Frederici et al. 2007). This shows not only a cognitive preference for language, but also a neurological one in infants as young as four months old.
Arciuli & Slowiaczek (2007) delve deeper into the neurological basis and mechanisms of language processing and stress preference, studying brain activity in adult subjects when confronted with various word-naming and recognizing tasks. The researchers found that stress typicality effects -- the recognition and response to different stress patterns -- arose only in the left hemisphere of the brain, though language processing as a whole requires portions of both hemispheres (Arciuli & Slowiaczek 2007). The results of this study results led the researchers to the tentative conclusions that stress patterns might actually come prior to lexical access in the process of word recognition, limiting the number of available words before other sounds are even considered, and that prosody and grammar are inextricably linked in the language processing system (Arciuli & Slowiaczek 2007). This provides even more compelling evidence for the link between the cognitive mechanisms of language and means of cultural identification and expression.
As extensions of basic biological constructs, the neurological factors underlying language are, of course, universal across cultures. For this reason, many behavioral scientists have come to the conclusion that the acquisition of language occurs at the same pace and by the same mechanisms in all cultures (Wyatt 2007). Social avenues for the learning and reinforcement of language are shown to be largely the same, and combined with the neurological and cognitive factors that are essentially universal to all of humanity, language development does indeed appear o have the same basis and impetus across cultures (Wyatt 2007). At the same time, linguistic differences between cultures utilize these mechanisms differently, and result in different cognitive patterns becoming more easily utilized by adult speakers of a given language (Wyatt 2007). The cultural similarities in the acquisition of language and the development of language learning skills, that is, are offset by the cultural differences in the ultimate use and processing of language; language has a commo basis, but not result.
Because of this, language has been shown a statistically significant measure of ethnic identity (Laroche et al. 2009). Though this may seem to be an incredibly simplistic conclusion on the surface, the fact that language has been proven a valid construct of ethnic identity shows the fundamentality of language to ethnicity and other measures/boundaries of culture (Laroche et al. 2009). Though long used as a conscious means of distinguishing between various groups of people, the scientific finding of linguistic differences as primary markers of culture is truly significant.
Findings
The findings of the literature review conducted for this paper break down into three primary categories: cultural differences in stress and intonation patterns in spoken language and the effects they have on the ability to gain fluency in other languages, the timing and progression of stress pattern differentiation in the development of language skills, and the deeper understanding of the cognitive and neurological basis for language skills. Research has shown that there is a clear cementing of stress pattern and intonation recognition and preference that remains only slightly malleable in adulthood (Chapman 2007; Nguyen et al. 2008; Zhang et al. 2008). Difficulties in language learning and spoken fluency is largely a matter of stress...
Language and Phonetics Teaching Methods to Determine Which Is the Most Effective for Teaching Reading to Elementary Students Participants Method that will be used Across the nation Americans are demanding new and better methods for the education of their children. One of the most important skills that is taught is the skill of reading. This paper will presents a study proposal to determine what the best method to teach reading is. The
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