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> the window for learning spoken language is permanently shut People still learn languages with completely different sounds when they are much older? Japanese,

> the window for learning spoken language is permanently shut People still learn languages with completely different sounds when they are much older? Japanese, the african click-sound languages... is it some lower-level abstraction that goes missing?

teaearlgraycold 3y ago
I think it’s the ability to understand any language through sound. Presumably other languages learned lean heavily on what you already know from other languages.
GauntletWizard 3y ago
I think the true answer is not impossibility, but significant, near insurmountable difficulty. The sound processing is not hooked up to cognition in the way it would be in a brain that had always had sensory input from the ears. Aissam would first need to learn to differentiate tones, voices, mouth-sounds, consonants vs vowels, etc. That's a lot to ask of a brain that had no understanding of that form of input at all. But all of this may turn out to be untrue! Our understanding of language acquisition comes from Feral Children[1], who had no language understanding at all, but could hear. Aissam has language skills, though developed late - The article mentions he started learning Spanish Sign Language at 8 years old. That's already a remarkable feat. This might overturn our views of language acquisition, which were mostly formed in the 1800's; Pedagogy has come a long way since then. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition#As_a_typically_human_phenomenon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition#As_a_typi...
lucubratory 3y ago
For reference, the language you're thinking of is Xhosa
- mkl 3y ago
  They said "languages" for a reason. There are quite a few: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_consonant#Languages_with_clicks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_consonant#Languages_with...
  - lucubratory 3y ago
    Thank you!
dghughes 3y ago
But those are not the only language they know though it's just a different language. The parts of a person's brain where language and speech exist are already developed. It's a mix of several areas for comprehension, speech, flow of speech - it's quite complex and not a single spot in a person's brain.
- dghughes 3y ago
  Then again ruining the point of my own comment what about cochlear implants?

teaearlgraycold 3y ago

I think it’s the ability to understand any language through sound. Presumably other languages learned lean heavily on what you already know from other languages.

GauntletWizard 3y ago

I think the true answer is not impossibility, but significant, near insurmountable difficulty. The sound processing is not hooked up to cognition in the way it would be in a brain that had always had sensory input from the ears. Aissam would first need to learn to differentiate tones, voices, mouth-sounds, consonants vs vowels, etc. That's a lot to ask of a brain that had no understanding of that form of input at all. But all of this may turn out to be untrue! Our understanding of language acquisition comes from Feral Children[1], who had no language understanding at all, but could hear. Aissam has language skills, though developed late - The article mentions he started learning Spanish Sign Language at 8 years old. That's already a remarkable feat. This might overturn our views of language acquisition, which were mostly formed in the 1800's; Pedagogy has come a long way since then. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition#As_a_typically_human_phenomenon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition#As_a_typi...

lucubratory 3y ago

For reference, the language you're thinking of is Xhosa

mkl 3y ago
They said "languages" for a reason. There are quite a few: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_consonant#Languages_with_clicks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_consonant#Languages_with...
- lucubratory 3y ago
  Thank you!

dghughes 3y ago

But those are not the only language they know though it's just a different language. The parts of a person's brain where language and speech exist are already developed. It's a mix of several areas for comprehension, speech, flow of speech - it's quite complex and not a single spot in a person's brain.

dghughes 3y ago
Then again ruining the point of my own comment what about cochlear implants?