Diego was born into a Spanish family settled in California. His parents conversed in Spanish. Baby Diego could recognize the sounds of words when his neighbors talked to him in English. However, after he turned one, he could not recognize the English phonetic sounds. Which of the following does this scenario reflect?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This scenario reflects neural commitment, which is the process by which the brain becomes more efficient at processing the sounds of the language(s) it is exposed to regularly, at the expense of recognizing the phonetic sounds of other languages. In Diego's case, his brain became more attuned to Spanish, the language he was primarily exposed to, making it harder for him to recognize English phonetic sounds as he grew older.

Diego Was Born into a Spanish Family Settled in California