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Have you ever wondered how human language is constructed to form meaning? Why is language more complex than animal calls?

Let's start with a quick experiment. Try to think about a chair, but don't let yourself use any words. Can you do it?

Screenshot 2017-01-12 13.37.38.png It should be pretty difficult. Human language and human thought are so tightly bound together that it can be really hard to separate them from each other. This makes the question of what language is, and how it functions, a particularly challenging one for psychologists.

How Does Language Develop?

A cry, a gesture, a babble. These are all examples of a child's first attempt at speaking. As the child grows, his or her linguistic abilities develop as well. The babble turns into a syllable, then a word and then a sentence. Do these changes occur because of innate traits that all humans are born with? Or is language development based on a social process in which interaction between the child and adult drives growth and developmental changes? This lesson will discuss the theoretical perspectives of language development and the various aspects of how language changes as a child develops and ages. Watch the following which details how language develops over time. This is important stuff!

BRAIN GAMES!

Using a series of experiments, illusions and man-on-the-street demonstrations, host Jason Silva and guest experts unlock the science behind the mysteries of why we say, eat, feel and act as we do with episodes on topics ranging from memory and common sense, to morality and the paranormal. Through an intricate series of interactive experiments designed to mess with your mind, we reveal the inner-workings of your brain. Hailed by critics as "tremendous fun" that "makes science entertaining," Brain Games turns your mind's eye inwards for a fascinating journey into the three and a half pounds of tissue that makes you... you!