Why are children so much
better than adults at learning languages? And why is that
humans are the only species capable of learning to
talk?
At the NYU Center for Child Language, director Dr. Gary Marcus, we study the origins
of human language: what babies and toddlers know about
language, and how they come to know it.
Our research, which has been published in prestigious
journals like Science and Nature, is
funded by the National Institute Health.
We are interested both in the very roots of language --
what goes on in the minds of infants, before they've even
started to talk -- and in that explosive period from age
two to age five in which children make a giant leap from
from being mere novices to being fluent language users.
If you have a small child, or know someone who does, and
would like to help, please let us know, please sign up to bring your baby into
the lab.