Language, Symbol Structure, and Cognitive Development

学习阅读和处理数字是儿童获得的最基本的符号技能之一。为了区分普遍的符号习得特征和依赖于特定语言或符号系统特征的符号习得特征，我们将比较说两种截然不同语言--英语和汉语--的儿童的阅读和早期数学的发展。本研究将探讨中英语言的三个具体差异对儿童数字和书面语的习得、使用和理解的影响。方法将从阅读的眼动追踪研究到基于模型的人工计数训练研究;在所有情况下，重点将放在符号结构的各个方面影响符号的获取、使用和理解的不同方面。符号系统，如数字和书面文字，是人类认知的基础。符号系统的结构使学习成为可能，并可能影响人类思考语言和数学的方式。理解符号结构对认知发展的贡献需要比较研究，其中符号结构的变化与符号的获取，使用和理解的变化有关。这样的研究在实践和理论上都很重要，因为掌握符号系统是一个受过教育的人的核心。

Learning to read and to work with numbers are among the most basic symbolic skills children acquire. In order to distinguish characteristics of symbolic acquisition that are universal versus those that depend upon features of a particular language or symbol system, we will compare the development of reading and early mathematics by children who speak two very different language - English and Chinese. The proposed research will study the effects of three specific differences between Chinese and English on children's acquisition, use, and understanding of numbers and written language. Methods will range from eye-tracking studies of reading to model-based artificial counting training studies; in all cases the focus will be on the way that aspects of symbol structure affects different aspects of the acquisition, use, and understanding of symbols. Symbol systems, such as numbers and written words, are fundamental to human cognition. Symbol systems are structured in ways that make learning possible and may affect the way humans think about language and mathematics. Understanding the contribution of symbol structure to cognitive development requires comparative research, in which variation in symbol structure is related to variation in acquisition, use, and understanding of symbols. Such research is of practical as well as theoretical importance, because mastering symbol systems is at the heart of what it means to be an educated person.