MPI Colloquium Nivedita Mani (Georg-Elias-Müller Institute)

Why do children learn words? "Babies learn words from early on. They also learn more words faster, the older they get. Nevertheless, there are differences in both the number and kinds of words known to different babies at the same age. In this talk, I will explore a number of possible reasons for such differences with a focus on the following hypotheses. First, I suggest that what baby knows will influence what baby is likely to learn next. Second, I suggest that what baby is interested in will influence what baby is likely to learn next and finally, I examine the possibility that babies might be intrinsically motivated to learn words, i.e., that learning words is rewarding in and of itself."