Describe the differences in the ability to differentiate among speech sounds for an infant and a 5-year-old child. What is the evolutionary purpose of the initial ability, and how does the ability change or disappear?

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The Answer is The ability to differentiate among speech sounds is significantly different between an infant and a 5-year-old child. Infants are born with the ability to distinguish between all speech sounds in all languages, but as they grow and are exposed to their native language, they start to lose the ability to differentiate between speech sounds that are not present in their language. This process is known as phonemic narrowing.

Infants have a remarkable ability to perceive and discriminate between speech sounds from all languages, regardless of whether those sounds are present in their native language or not. This ability is crucial for language acquisition, as it allows infants to learn the specific speech sounds of their native language. As they are exposed to their native language, they start to focus on the speech sounds that are relevant to their language and lose the ability to differentiate between speech sounds that are not used in their language.

By the age of 5, children have typically lost the ability to differentiate between speech sounds that are not present in their native language. This is why children who are exposed to multiple languages from a young age are able to differentiate between speech sounds from different languages, while children who are only exposed to one language may struggle to differentiate between speech sounds that are not present in their language.

The evolutionary purpose of this initial ability is to facilitate language acquisition. By being able to differentiate between all speech sounds, infants are able to learn the specific speech sounds of their native language. This ability allows them to develop the necessary phonemic awareness to understand and produce speech in their language.

As children are exposed to their native language and their phonemic awareness becomes more focused on the speech sounds of their language, they lose the ability to differentiate between speech sounds that are not present in their language. This is a natural process that allows children to become proficient in their native language and communicate effectively within their linguistic community.

Describe the Differences in the Ability to Differentiate Among Speech