Kim Oller: Infant vocal development and speech/language capacity

Abstract: Infant vocal development reveals foundations for language, starting from the first month of life, and even before full-term birth in infants 2-months premature. These non-cry, spontaneously produced “protophones” are explored and elaborated in vocal play and face-to-face interaction, yielding rich interchanges for which there is no known precedent in non-humans. The search for early cues regarding risk for language disorders, especially in autism, is focused on the development of the protophones and the vocal interchanges with caregivers that are anchored on them.

Jointly sponsored by HESP and the Language Science Center.