34.3763, Review: Growing Into Language: Tolchinsky & Berman 2023

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LINGUIST List: Vol-34-3763. Thu Dec 14 2023. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 34.3763, Review: Growing Into Language: Tolchinsky & Berman 2023

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Date: 15-Dec-2023
From: Francesca Grixoni [fgg25 at nau.edu]
Subject: Language Acquisition: Tolchinsky & Berman 2023


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/34.2137

AUTHOR: Liliana Tolchinsky
AUTHOR: Ruth A. Berman
TITLE: Growing Into Language
SUBTITLE: Developmental Trajectories and Neural Underpinnings
PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press
YEAR: 2023

REVIEWER: Francesca Grixoni

SUMMARY

"Growing into Language," co-authored by Liliana Tolchinsky and Ruth A.
Berman, serves as a concise guide to the intricacies of human
language. The focus throughout the book is on the practical use of
language, particularly focusing on areas such as storytelling,
argumentation, literacy, figurative speech, metalinguistic uses of
language and more. Each chapter can be likened to a condensed course
that offers readers a profound understanding of language structures,
the cognitive processes involved in speaking and comprehension,
sociocultural conventions, neurology—all within a developmental
framework spanning from infancy to adolescence. It skillfully
synthesizes the pivotal phases in different aspects of language
development: the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Chapter 1 is titled “Brains for Language” and it explains the authors’
stance on language development in children, stating that both genes
and environment provide the material and relevant inputs that make
this phenomenon possible, together with socio-cognitive growth and
experience with language use. This chapter introduces
neuro-constructivism, a neurobiological perspective on language
development. This perspective emphasizes the interaction between
genetics and experience. Brain structures are influenced by both genes
and experiences, shaping our ability to perceive and adapt to the
environment. It highlights the interconnected nature of the brain's
regions and their adaptability due to experience. Sensorimotor schemas
provide a common foundation for cognition across domains. Language
development is driven by domain-general learning mechanisms. This
development extends beyond early childhood, with implicit learning
playing a central role in adapting to communicative situations.
Cognitive control, rooted in neurogenesis, is highlighted as a key
factor in later language achievements, influencing various aspects of
language knowledge and usage, such as storytelling, grammar
construction, conversational skills, coherent discourse production,
and essay planning and writing.

In Chapter 2, “Language for recollection” the authors discuss the
development of storytelling abilities in children. In narratives,
people draw upon their stored memories of events, retrieve these
events, and verbally reconstruct them to convey to others. Temporality
plays a crucial role in storytelling, involving a shift from current
actuality to past events. Narratives also emphasize agency, focusing
on people, their actions, motivations, and event-based descriptions.
Linguistically, narratives link events either explicitly or implicitly
through causal relationships and temporal sequencing. These narrative
abilities develop from childhood to adolescence, influenced by
linguistic and cognitive factors. The narrative genre is fundamental
in language use and evolves over time, reflecting the relationship
between language and thought. They note that, by the age of 5,
children are already familiar with much of the vocabulary and grammar
of their language and can recount personal experiences in coherent
stories. As they progress through school, they learn to construct
well-organized narratives. By high-school adolescence, they can create
meaningful connections between events, interpret events, and consider
their audience when telling stories. Adolescents can tell stories
about various topics, and their abilities continue to grow into
adulthood. This development is driven by neural maturation, cognitive
control, and increasing exposure to language use. Storytelling is a
universal and early form of extended discourse, and it undergoes a
protracted developmental journey from early childhood through
adolescence.

Chapter 3, titled "Language for actuality," delves into the
complexities of discussing the present and distinguishing between fact
and fiction. The chapter begins by discussing the ability of young
children to differentiate between real and imaginary concepts,
highlighting the crucial role of context in this distinction. The
concept of "actual" is explored from various perspectives, including
its conceptual, logical, and temporal dimensions. One central theme of
the chapter is the multifaceted nature of communicative contexts and
the idea that language conveys more than just verbal information. It
takes into account factors like social status, education, and
relationship dynamics. The authors stress the significance of
describing and arguing when discussing the actual world and note that
differences in proficiency emerge as individuals mature. The chapter
also examines the challenges of addressing the present because it
inevitably involves references to the past and future. It explains the
neurobiological processes related to perceiving and thinking about
actual situations. The brain's temporal perception is discussed,
indicating that the "now" is an interval of about two to three
seconds. The brain processes sensory information, and predictive
mechanisms help compensate for delays in neural processing to create
the perception of real-time experience. Lastly, the authors analyze
developmental trajectories in using language to describe ongoing
states of affairs. They point out that as children grow older, they
become more proficient in using language for various social actions in
different communicative contexts. Adolescents, in particular, use
diverse discourse functions that involve social empathy,
self-awareness, observation, world knowledge, and analytical thought.

Chapter 4, “Language for (im)possible worlds”, begins by exploring the
concept of imagination as the power to generate possibilities, which
includes generating new ideas, considering alternative perspectives on
situations, and forming mental images of objects and scenarios that
may not exist in reality. Imagination is described as a fundamental
cognitive ability. It then discusses the linguistic means for
referring to possible worlds and the role of irrealis mood in
expressing attitudes toward different states of affairs. Modal
judgments, including deontic and epistemic categories, are
highlighted, and it is explained how they influence the interpretation
of statements related to necessity, desire, and likelihood. It also
touches upon the distinction between possible, conditional, and
counterfactual alternatives and how individuals differentiate between
them. It notes that these distinctions are rooted in stored
experiences and memory processes. The authors analyze the development
of language skills related to discussing hypothetical and
counterfactual scenarios. It outlines a developmental trajectory,
starting with early pragmatic uses of language for instrumental
purposes and progressing towards more complex expressions of
possibilities. The transition from childhood to adolescence involves a
shift from rule-based thinking to a more principled understanding of
diverse perspectives. Adults, particularly those with higher levels of
education and literacy, exhibit greater linguistic sophistication in
discussing alternative futures. The passage also raises questions
about the influence of grammatical forms on conceptual accessibility.
Overall, it highlights the evolution of language in conveying
(im)possible worlds and the cognitive and linguistic challenges that
individuals face during this developmental process.

“Language for imagery” is the title of Chapter 5, in which various
aspects of figurative language are discussed, including idioms,
proverbs, metaphors, humor, irony, and lies. It explores the
challenges in distinguishing between literal and figurative meanings,
how context plays a crucial role in interpretation, and the
involvement of cognitive processes like inference-making, resolving
ambiguities, and context-dependent meaning. The authors present
findings from neuroimaging studies, showing that the brain's response
to figurative language, humor, metaphor, irony, and lying involves
both common and distinct neural structures. It discusses developmental
shifts in processing various forms of figurative language in children,
highlighting the evolving role of different brain regions during
cognitive development. The skill needed to understand figurative
language develops as children transition from an emphasis on clear and
easily processed language to mature communicative competence., that is
why the authors argue that proficiency in figurative language is
essential for academic success and literacy.

Chapter 6, “Language for reflection (on language)”, discusses the
development of metalinguistic awareness, which is the ability to think
about and discuss various features of a language. Metalinguistic
awareness represents a developmental continuum, progressing from
sensitivity to conscious access. It begins with young children paying
attention to linguistic features, engaging in self-repairs, and making
remarks about language use. The authors highlight that this awareness
can advance from early sensitivity to a more conscious understanding
of linguistic structure and function, explaining that experts in
linguistics, language teaching, editing, and translation often employ
specialized metalanguage to explain linguistic features. However, the
specialized metalanguage used by experts is typically not part of the
everyday repertoire of ordinary speakers. This metalinguistic behavior
is embedded in discourse, using the same means of expression as
ordinary language, and it influences language development and
socialization within speech communities. The role of metalinguistic
awareness (MA) in understanding, discussing, and shaping the use of
language is emphasized in the chapter. The authors explain that MA
allows individuals to reflect on their own implicit knowledge of
language and gain conscious access to the discourse practices of their
speech community. The chapter also delves into the neurological
underpinnings of consciousness and awareness, highlighting the role of
different brain processes and networks in various levels of thought.
Additionally, it discusses how different factors, such as literacy and
linguistic profile, can affect the development of metalinguistic
abilities.

The last chapter in the book is titled “Language for Literacy and
Literacy for Language”. The chapter introduces the concept of literacy
with an explanation of the historical development of literacy,
particularly in ancient Greece, and the shift from oral to alphabetic
literacy, and also the advent of the printed press. The authors
discuss various levels of literacy knowledge and the influence of
cultural and linguistic factors on text-literacy. It challenges the
traditional view that reading and writing are skills that require
explicit instruction, suggesting that children have innate
capabilities and early exposure to literacy-related aspects. Moreover,
the text stresses that text-literacy is not solely about writing
skills but involves a complex process of acculturation and critical
thinking. The connection between writing and reading is also analyzed,
with a focus on their interdependence and importance for text
literacy. It discusses cognitive models of text writing and reading,
emphasizing the non-linear nature of the writing process, planning,
idea generation, and revision. The authors also touch upon the
neurological aspects of reading and writing, by explaining how the
brain adapts to these skills and the differences between expert and
non-expert writers.

Although the numbered chapters ended with Chapter 7, there is a
further section titled “Afterthoughts” in which the authors review
what has been discussed in the previous chapters about the development
of language and language-related skills from infancy through
adolescence, emphasizing the interplay between neurobiological factors
and the socio-cultural environment. There is a focus on certain
aspects of language development: the role of bi-directional
interactivity in cognitive and linguistic development, including the
brain's maturational processes, the influence of linguistic
environments, and the selective encoding of information in memory. The
authors also underscore the importance of rich and diverse
socio-cultural settings for enhancing linguistic skills and
literacy-related activities. Additionally, they point out several
unresolved questions and areas for future research, such as the impact
of grammatical marking in different languages and the role of body
language, multilingualism, and language deficits in various contexts.
Overall, this file section provides a comprehensive overview of
language development and identifies gaps in current research.

EVALUATION

The authors present a comprehensive exploration of language
development, spanning from infancy to adolescence, by dissecting
various facets of this intricate process. The book adeptly amalgamates
insights from linguistics, developmental psychology, neuroscience, and
cognitive science, advocating for a multidisciplinary approach to
comprehend language development. This integration caters to scholars
across these fields, enriching their understanding. The book
skillfully synthesizes language development across various aspects,
including storytelling, argumentation, literacy, figurative speech,
and metalinguistic awareness. Thus it provides a developmental
framework that traces the transition from childhood to adolescence,
and offers readers a profound understanding of language structures and
cognitive processes.
A notable feature is the introduction of the concept of
neuro-constructivism, accentuating the dynamic interplay between
genetics and experience in shaping language development. This
perspective serves as a bridge between psycholinguistics and
neurobiology, enriching our comprehension of how the brain underpins
language acquisition. The book's exploration of metalinguistic
awareness offers a deeper understanding of language reflection and
self-awareness. Developing this kind of awareness is pivotal for
language learners as it entails contemplating language features and
structures, which is also pivotal for effective second language
acquisition.
Certainly, a pervasive and crucial theme threading through the book is
the notion of "filtering by language." This concept posits that
language development is filtered by the lexical and grammatical
options provided by the specific language being acquired. In essence,
it underscores how individual perspectives in language use are
significantly influenced by the linguistic choices available to them.
Experiences, events, and ideas are not presented in a pre-encoded
verbal form but are filtered through the prism of speakers' world
knowledge and the linguistic options at their disposal. The deliberate
inclusion of diverse populations in the book, with a focus on students
raised in Israel, the U.S., and Spain, reflects the authors'
commitment to illustrating the universality of language development
concepts while acknowledging linguistic diversity.
The book exhibits a well-organized structure, with each chapter
scrutinizing specific language properties and featuring subsections
that elucidate their development in children and adolescents. The
conclusive section of the book brilliantly revisits the overarching
questions posited in the initial chapter, culminating in
evidence-based answers. This circularity underscores the central
premise of the book, asserting that language development transcends a
binary "innate versus acquired" dichotomy, with real-life
communicative scenarios inducing linguistically significant changes.
It's important to note that the book neither dismisses Noah Chomsky’s
Universal Grammar theory nor embraces Krashen's stages of acquisition.
Instead, the authors demonstrate that elements from both theories hold
true when examining language acquisition processes.
Critiques can be directed at the book's scope, as it predominantly
concentrates on first language acquisition in children and
adolescents. A more robust exploration of second language acquisition
and the interplay between first and second language development would
enhance its breadth. Additionally, while the book furnishes rich
theoretical insights into language development, it lacks practical
applications for educators, parents, and clinicians working with
language learners. The inclusion of practical strategies and
interventions would augment the book's real-world relevance.
Furthermore, the book overlooks linguistic diversity by predominantly
focusing on Western European languages. Broadening the scope to
encompass cross-linguistic comparisons could fortify the examination
of linguistic typologies and their implications for language
development.
In summary, "Growing into Language" presents a valuable and
all-encompassing perspective on language development, highlighting the
dynamic interplay between biology, experience, and cognition. While
the book may be more tailored to readers with a linguistic background,
the authors thoughtfully incorporate two glossaries of technical
neurobiological terms to familiarize readers with the requisite
terminology. All in all, "Growing into Language" makes substantive
contributions to the fields of linguistics, language acquisition, and
psycholinguistics by accentuating the developmental aspect and
integrating insights from neurobiology.

REFERENCES

Chomsky, N. (1978). Topics in the Theory of Generative Grammar.
Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110903843
Krashen, S. D., & Terrell, T. D. (1983). The Natural Approach:
Language Acquisition in the Classroom. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall
International English Language Teaching

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Francesca Grixoni is a first year PhD student at Northern Arizona
University.  She received her MA in Interpreting and Translation from
the University of International Studies in Rome. Her research
interests include corpus linguistics, speech perception and
interpreting studies.



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