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On Linking Nonverbal Imitation, Representation, and Language Learning in the First Two Years of Life

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The Many Faces of Imitation in Language Learning

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Language and Communication ((SSLAN,volume 24))

Abstract

This book is a collection of research on diverse aspects of imitation with a focus on how imitation contributes to language learning. Most of the chapters are concerned with imitative processes in language itself, with the imitation of syntactic forms or lexical items. A primary aim of this chapter is to discuss a different face of imitation—that of nonverbal imitation, and, in particular, nonverbal deferred imitation. The capacity to use deferred imitation is an integral part of the ability to use words productively. One elementary prerequisite for using a particular form like chapeu or hat, for example, is that children be able to retain and imitate the specific target word they have heard in their culture. Understanding the ontogenetically prior development of nonverbal deferred imitation may help illuminate a basic cognitive prerequisite of language acquisition.

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Authors
  1. Andrew N. Meltzoff
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  2. Alison Gopnik
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Development of Early Education, Kapalama Heights, Honolulu, HI, 96817, USA

    Gisela E. Speidel

  2. Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Keith E. Nelson

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Meltzoff, A.N., Gopnik, A. (1989). On Linking Nonverbal Imitation, Representation, and Language Learning in the First Two Years of Life. In: Speidel, G.E., Nelson, K.E. (eds) The Many Faces of Imitation in Language Learning. Springer Series in Language and Communication, vol 24. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1011-5_2

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