EVALUATING THE ROLE OF PREDICTION IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Given the fast pace, representational complexity, and frequent ambiguity of spoken language, how do interlocutors efficiently achieve mutual understanding? How do children make gains in processing language and communicating with others? A number of current theories suggest that prediction - the ability to anticipate upcoming information - is a mechanism supporting language processing (e.g., Pickering & Garrod, 2013) and language development (e.g., Dell & Chang, 2014). However, due to the limitations of existing empirical work, the role of prediction in language development remains the subject of ongoing debate (e.g., Huettig, 2015). The present studies therefore aim to further elucidate whether, when, and how prediction could support language development. Chapter 2 examines the developmental emergence of both bottom-up (associative) and top-down (predictive) language processing mechanisms, and begins to tease apart the dynamic influences of such mechanisms during real-time processing. Next, Chapter 3 investigates the role of language experience in shaping whether and how listeners generate predictions. Finally, Chapter 4 evaluates whether and how listeners generate predictions within more naturalistic language processing contexts. Collectively, these studies suggest that the ability to generate predictions during moment-to-moment language processing facilitates language processing and development from infancy through adulthood.