INX 199
Breaking the Code: How Children Learn Language
Fall 2005-Spring 2006

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Media Links Feb 8: Another interesting article, in CBC, on Nicaraguan sign language "creators". Feb 7: There's a neat article in Slate on language programs for "learning language like a child". I recommend it -- and there's even a pointer to a demo you can try out! Oct 5: Here's a political language joke. (US politicians are often easy targets for these!) Donald Rumsfeld is giving President Bush his daily briefing. Rumsfeld concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed." "OH NO!" the president exclaims. "That's terrible!" His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the president sits, head in hands. Finally, the president looks up and asks, "Just how many is a brazillion?" Sept 28: Here are a couple of recent articles about language research at UofT, in The Bulletin. One is about adolescents and language change. The other is about older learners of a second language. Sept 26: Really great Scientific American article that a student sent me, called Mindful of Symbols: "On the way to learning that one thing can represent another, young children often conflate the real item and its symbol. These errors show how difficult it is to start thinking symbolically." The article talks about some very surprising things kids do when dealing with symbols that relate to real objects. Sept 20: See this New York Times article about swearing.