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From: roberts@cognos.uucp (Robert Stanley)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Why can't my cat talk?
Message-ID: <1697@cognos.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 31-Oct-87 16:03:14 EST
Article-I.D.: cognos.1697
Posted: Sat Oct 31 16:03:14 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 1-Nov-87 20:35:18 EST
References: <11967@decwrl.DEC.COM>
Reply-To: roberts@cognos.UUCP (Robert Stanley)
Organization: Cognos Inc., Ottawa, Canada
Lines: 47
Summary: when language appears impossible in humans

In article <11967@decwrl.DEC.COM> glantz@yippee.dec.com (26-Oct-1987 2000)
	   writes:

>  [Aside: It is known that the human brain (and that of other mammals, as
>  well) undergoes physiological changes during the period of infancy and
>  early childhood. It is possible that the initial acquisition of
>  linguistic skills can only occur effectively during this period, during
>  which time these physiological changes are significantly ``molded'' by
>  the socialization process, where certain ``symbolic'' structures
>  actually become ``wired in''. If this were the case, then the period
>  during which basic linguistic ability can be acquired would be limited
>  to this ``crystallization'' period, which is possibly much longer in
>  humans than in other mammals.

This little aside opens up an alternative line of study.  There have been a
number of well documented and researched cases of feralism in humans.  In each
case the human child had effectively been deprived of the necessary language-
building stimuli during the period the author of the previos article refers to
as the crystallization period.  This has been discussed several times on the
net in the last year, but from a different viewpoint.

If it can be shown that feral children re-introduced into society *cannot*
acquire natural language skills after they are a certain age, this would tend
to reinfore the crystallization period theory.  From memory, the last net
discussion centered around whether feral children ever developed independent
language skills or other viable communication systems, and it seems to me that
the literature said they didn't.

Assuming that rehabilitated feral children fail to acquire language abilities,
some sort of practical threshold for the end of the crystallization phase could
be determined.  However, given the wide variance in individual physiology,
coupled with the possibly unusual organic stresses of feral upbringing, this is
unlikely to yield a very precise figure.

Should this crystallization hypothesis prove true, what does this tell us about
gorillas?  And is AMSLAN, in which I understand at least one gorilla has
achieved not only a considerable vocabulary but a remarkable proficiency at
combining "symbols" to denote new concepts, a natural language?  That is to
say, does mastery of a sign language require the same brain functions as those
required to speak a natural language?

Robert_S
-- 
Robert Stanley           Cognos Incorporated     S-mail: P.O. Box 9707
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