The Best Evidence That There Is a Critical Period for Language

question 101

Multiple Choice

The best evidence that there is a critical period for language acquisition is the fact that

• A) infants babble sounds that occur in their parents' native language.
• B) toddlers maintain a capacity to discriminate language sounds they have never heard.
• C) people most easily master the grammar of a second language during childhood.
• D) preschoolers typically fail to use proper syntax.

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Definitions:

Olfaction

The sense of smell, which is the detection of odors through sensory organs in the nose.

Gustation

The sense of taste, which is one of the five traditional senses and involves the detection of flavors by taste buds on the tongue.

Bipolar Neurons

Bipolar neurons are a type of nerve cell that have two extensions, making them crucial for sensory pathways, like those in the retina of the eye.

Squamous Epithelial Cells

Flat, scale-like cells that form the outermost layer of the skin and line the oral cavity, esophagus, and other organs.