Statistical Learning in Language Acquisition

描述（由申请人提供）：学习一门语言是人类共同完成的最艰巨的任务之一。语言学习过程的探索提供了解决人类认知及其发展的核心问题的机会。本文提出的研究代表了研究这一主题的一种方法：通过对成人、儿童和婴儿参与者进行的实验室学习实验，研究语言习得背后的学习过程架构。这项研究计划的目标是通过跟踪输入中的声音、单词和其他单位的模式来检测语言单位的统计学习机制，从而大大增加我们的知识。最近的研究结果表明，统计学习过程在语言习得中起着重要作用。然而，目前对学习者计算的统计规律类型和支持成功知识获取的学习约束知之甚少。提出的实验将提出以下问题：(1)输入的结构如何约束统计学习？研究将考虑对作为学习输入的线索选择的知觉、语言和信息限制。(2)先验经验如何影响统计学习？在实验室内外对先前经验的操作将被用来评估对后续学习的影响。(3)统计学习能否解释语言习得的基本现象？统计学习和其他类型的过程之间的相互作用，如规则学习和输入中其他线索的存在，将被调查。所有这些问题都将使用先前开发的实验室学习范式来解决，该范式允许仔细操作输入并详细评估参与者能够学习的内容。使用语言材料的研究将与使用非语言材料的研究进行对比，以进一步探索所考虑的学习机制的轨迹和领域特异性。这些问题的答案将为一个新兴的理论框架提供信息，即约束统计学习，旨在阐明语言习得的研究以及人类学习和发展中的其他紧迫问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Acquiring a language is among the most daunting feats uniformly accomplished by our species. Explorations of the language learning process present the opportunity to address central issues pertaining to human cognition and its development. The proposed research represents one approach to this topic: the study of the architecture of the learning processes underlying language acquisition, using laboratory learning experiments performed with adult, child, and infant participants. The goal of this research program is to substantially increase our knowledge of the statistical learning mechanisms that detect linguistic units by tracking the patterns of sounds, words, and other units in the input. Recent results suggest that statistical learning processes play an important role in the acquisition of language. However, little is currently known about the types of statistical regularities computed by learners and the constraints on learning that support successful knowledge acquisition. The proposed experiments will ask: (1) How does the structure of the input constrain statistical learning? Studies will consider perceptual, linguistic, and informational constraints on the choice of cues as input to learning. (2) How does prior experience influence statistical learning? Manipulations of prior experience, inside and outside the lab, will be used to assess effects on subsequent learning. (3) Can statistical learning account for basic phenomena in language acquisition? Interactions between statistical learning and other types of processes, such as rule learning and the presence of other cues in the input, will be investigated. All of these issues will be addressed using previously developed laboratory learning paradigms that permit careful manipulation of input and detailed assessment of what participants are able to learn. Studies using linguistic materials will be contrasted with studies using nonlinguistic materials to further explore the locus and domain-specificity of the learning mechanisms under consideration. The answers to these questions will inform an emerging theoretical framework, constrained statistical learning, intended to elucidate the study of language acquisition and other pressing issues in human learning and development.