Language, Symbol Structure, and Cognitive Development

语言、符号结构和认知发展

• 批准号: 0079973
• 负责人: Kevin Miller
• 金额: $ 33.18万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-08-01 至 2004-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0079973&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Language; Symbol; Structure; Cognitive; Development

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.

学习阅读和处理数字是儿童获得的最基本的符号技能。为了区分符号习得的普遍特征和依赖于特定语言或符号系统的特征，我们将比较说两种截然不同的语言——英语和汉语的儿童在阅读和早期数学方面的发展。本研究将研究汉语和英语之间的三个具体差异对儿童数字和书面语言的习得、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如何影响符号的获取、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，并可能影响人类对语言和数学的思考方式。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。这样的研究既具有实践意义，又具有理论意义，因为掌握符号系统是成为一个受过教育的人的核心。