Page 74 - Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Language

Language and Mind
communicate their needs and to name things long before they can speak the words. Such prespeech use of lexigrams can begin as early as seven and a half months and offers an early and highly unique access to the child's language and cognitivedevelopment.
4. What Have Lexigrams Done to Aid Language Development?
The lexigram keyboard appears to help structure the linguistic information as it is presented. Because the ape's attention is brought to the lexigram symbol sim- ultaneously as it hears the spoken word, it appears to be better able to parse out spoken words from the soundstream that otherwise characterizes the hearing of a spoken sentence. In turn, this parsing probably serves to enhance the learning of individual word meanings. Speech coupled with corresponding use of lexigrams appears to facilitate the encoding of words and word meaning.
As children with severe language deficiencies acquire competence in the use of these keyboards, they become more sociable at home and in the school and enjoy enhancement of interactions with normal peers. Their competence in using their boards extends to the real world, as per ordering food in restaurants and in work. Use of the keyboards also serves to stimulate the children's effort to speak, apparently in response to hearing the speech sounds which are under their control when the keyboard is used.
5. Summary
By studying apes, a great deal has been learned about language and how early environment serves from birth to support its acquisition. The work has enabled sym- bolic language skills to be acquired by children with language deficits due to mental retardation. In due course, studies of language acquisition will help us to understand better how language evolved and how our early ancestors may have used it to communicate.
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The ancient idea of innate ideas was later given new life and substance first by Descartes, then by Leibniz. Since Leibniz, innate ideas have come in two strengths.
Some are ideas or concepts that could not have been acquired through experience, or simply were not so acquired. This is the weaker strength. The others,
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Innate Ideas C. Travis