Word: kuhl
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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This difference in perception might just be critical, says University of Washington neuroscientist Patricia Kuhl. For it is during the first year of life that children form what Kuhl terms "mental magnets," which sweep up similar-sounding speech sounds and file them away in phonic bins. If language-impaired children never perceive ba and da as different, then they may form mental magnets that file these sounds into the same broad category, seriously undermining their ability to group sounds into words and sentences later on. Indeed, believes Benasich, the ability to make fine acoustic distinctions is one of the pilings...
...language impairment could turn out to be more correctable than poor hearing or poor eyesight. They point out that the earphones that transmit the exaggerated speech sounds to children's ears in the lab are only temporary aids. "When you take off eyeglasses, you can't see," observes Kuhl. "But when you take off these funny-looking earphones, then you might just proceed to understanding normal speech...