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Consequences of the Now-or-Never bottleneck for signed versus spoken languages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2016

Karen Emmorey
Karen Emmorey*
Affiliation:
School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92120. [email protected]://emmoreylab.sdsu.edu/
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Abstract

Signed and spoken languages emerge, change, are acquired, and are processed under distinct perceptual, motor, and memory constraints. Therefore, the Now-or-Never bottleneck has different ramifications for these languages, which are highlighted in this commentary. The extent to which typological differences in linguistic structure can be traced to processing differences provides unique evidence for the claim that structure is processing.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 39 , 2016 , e70
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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